


Summer Fruit

by Kirianna_May



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: A/B/O, ABO, Alpha Damen (Captive Prince), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Birth, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of the Regent, Mpreg, Omega Laurent (Captive Prince), Post-Canon, Unplanned Pregnancy, and of what he did to laurent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-05-18 13:23:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19335385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirianna_May/pseuds/Kirianna_May
Summary: The Regent has been killed, Damen's wound has finally healed, the weather in Akielos is good and Laurent should finally be able to relax.At least as soon as he can be done with his upcoming heat, he only needs some of the usual herbs from Paschal and to endure a few days of being unbearably horny and after that everything is expected to be smooth sailing, right?





	1. Chapter 1

It was an early morning, the bright sun of the south already almost painful in his pale eyes as it reflected off the white walls and marbled floors of the palace. Laurent’s pace was brisk but unhurried, he knew he still had plenty of time to make his preparations, and servants would talk if they saw him hasten down the corridors and out of his and the king’s quarters.

 

Indeed, the servants would talk anyway, what mattered was not giving them any hints as to what he was doing at such a time,  while the king still slept in their shared bed.

The sweetness of the air told him summer was approaching, fruit was ripening on trees in the gardens, and he could still smell the salt of the seawater on his skin from the late afternoon spent among the placid waves. Everything spoke of calmness, a gentle time for him to settle and rest after the months of blood and fear that had led to the fall of the Regent, and yet Laurent couldn’t fully relax, couldn’t let the season lull him into the placid rest of midday.

 

Damen’s wound had healed, the tall, olive skinned man wouldn’t flinch anymore as he moved, and Laurent’s chest felt slightly  less tight as he thought of that, of his lover, peacefully asleep in their bed, of his dark curls against the cream of the pillows, of  his warmth against his back…

 

Laurent hoped he would be able to go back to their rooms before he woke up, or before he set off for his daily duties at least, he couldn’t fully keep a corner of his lips from curling up as he thought of how hard it had been to extricate himself from the embrace without waking the king.

 

Still, loving arms and passionate lips would have to wait, for Laurent knew what summer would bring, every year, without fail since he had presented for the first time when he was barely fifteen, with the lengthening of the daylight and the sweetening of the air came his heat.

 

 It was an affair he would have gladly gone without, but no matter what, even the suppressant herbs he had never stopped taking could only help him so much during that one week of the year. He willed his hands not to ball into fists as he thought about it, and took a deep breath, considering how this would be the first heat he could spend alone in his rooms and without fear of any danger befalling him.

He knew that Damen would make sure nobody could come near him, that nothing could hurt him at all.

It was a comforting thought, enough to make the burden of the coming week seem less bleak, and enough to warm his cheeks.

 

Laurent knocked on the light colored wooden door before opening it. The smell of herbs and salves hung in the air, not  completely unpleasant as he walked into the large and luminous space that Pascal had been given to serve them as royal  physician while in Akielos.

 

“Your highness” the old man’s voice came as he raised a white curtain separating the large room from his own private quarters “Iwasn’t expecting your visit yet”

Laurent turned around leisurely, replacing on the shelf the green vial he had been examining

“You know I like being prepared” he said, pale fingers already going to the tight lacing at his neck “Please make it quick Pascal, I  have things to do”

 

The greying head of the physician bowed slightly as the prince of Vere walked over to a chair and finished undoing the front of  his pale blue jacket and the first few laces of the white shirt underneath.

 

The long column of his neck leaned to the side as the hands of the physician touched around, looking for the plumped up  glands announcing the shifting of his hormones.

Laurent sighed and frowned as the hands came away shortly after 

 

“What is it?” He asked curtly 

The old man looked unsure for a moment before asking 

“May I feel on the other side your highness?”

 

Laurent conceded with a bored look out of the large window, studying the changing light cast by the rising sun while practiced fingers pressed and prodded carefully where neck met shoulder, and could feel that something wasn’t as Pascal had expected it to be, for it never took him this much to assess how far away his heat was.

 

When the man finally stopped and took a respectful step back, Laurent looked at him, one golden brow arched just a fraction as he waited for an answer

 

“Well? When am I to expect the heat to come?” He prompted at the unusual silence 

“Your highness, your heat seems to be still far…”

“What?” Laurent’s fingers stilled on the intricate lacing he had been redoing 

“There is no swelling of the glands, your highness’s complexion seems to be as pale as usual…” 

“This is absurd, my heat has never been unpredictable, why is this time any different?”

The physician seemed to ponder his words for a long moment before asking 

“Has your highness done anything unusual, or felt any changes?”

 

Laurent’s fine brows knitted closer together as he considered what the man might be implying, and snapped impatiently as he started unlacing his own pants

“Check”

“Your highness-”

“I said _check_ Paschal” he commanded, leveling the old man with an especially cold glance as he went to lay on the low bed,  lower half unceremoniously exposed as his long legs drew up, bare feet planted on the thin mattress of the bed.

 

Laurent’s breathing was controlled, his body stiff as Pascal’s impersonal and efficient fingers explored him, the palm of the old man’s other hand flat on the milky skin of his stomach.

 He recalled his night with Damen at Mellos, how they had made love the night he had been convinced would be his last, how he had wanted to give him everything he could ever offer…

 

As the physician’s hands drew back, the young prince let go of a breath he barely realized he had been holding and sat up, his gaze steady as Paschal washed his hands methodically in a basin.

“I’m afraid your heat won’t come this year your Highness” he said at last, eyes respectfully averted as Laurent felt his heart thud almost painfully in his chest.

 

“How far along?” He heard himself ask, voice impeccably steady, portraying a calm he did not feel as he asked a question to  which he already knew the answer.

 

The physician hesitated once more and Laurent’s lips tightened into a thin, impatient line

“I cannot be sure your highness, not very far yet…”

“Is it too late to get rid of it?” Laurent almost startled himself with the bluntness of the question and with how cold he managed to sound

“No your highness, it is not too late” 

The answer was simple, almost reassuring and Laurent nodded once, pleased with it as he bent to redress himself with quick,  precise movements.

“I’ll think about it Paschal, expect me to pay you another visit soon” 

 

Laurent’s pace was slightly less controlled than earlier in the morning as he made his way back to his rooms, a change nobody  would notice except Damen.

 

And Laurent was suddenly glad for having spent longer than initially planned with the physician, knowing that by now his lover  must be having breakfast at the large oak table, Nikandros bringing new and old matters to his attention.

 

He was glad for the moment of respite as he closed the door behind himself and let his composure slip as his fists clenched  tightly while he fought the edge of panic that twisted deep and unpleasant in the pit of his stomach.

 

He knew he had to take a decision, and whatever that decision might be he had to tell Damen too. The thought made him feel unexpectedly queasy as his heart hammered in his temples, and he sat on the edge of their shared bed, unable to think.

 

* * *

 

Damen had woken up to an empty bed that morning, which was unusual, but not exactly a cause for concern since he knew that Laurent was still inside the palace attending, he assumed, to his own share of duties.

 

They saw each other again at lunch, a brief pause before a joint afternoon meeting that lasted into early evening.

 

Damen knew soon enough that something was the matter, could see it plainly in the rigid line of Laurent’s shoulders and the set of his jaw.

 

He waited, it could be something unimportant, so Damen was patient till the stillness of their rooms greeted them later that  night. Already lying on the bed, he watched the prince undress, the pale face unreadable in the candlelight, every muscle tight  with a tension he had not seen in a long time as he walked to the bed in a simple white shirt.

 

The young man sat on the bed, his back straight and the soft curve of his neck made softer by the fall of golden hair.

 

In the silence Damen couldn’t help moving slightly forward, hand covering the smaller one resting on the mattress, a gesture he hoped would help Laurent relax.

 

The tense body in front of him spasmed with the effort of repressing a start at the contact with his skin.

 

Still, Laurent’s head turned slightly, enough for Damen to see the curve of his long eyelashes, golden in the flickering light, the planes of his arresting profile, the masculine jaw framed by strands of blonde hair.

 

He was no less tense than a moment before, but as he saw Damen lazily spread among the sheets Laurent gifted him with a  slight curling of the lips, a small, reassuring smile which Damen counted as a small victory for himself.

 

“Lie down my dear, it’s late”

“I’m not tired” the answer came quickly, almost like an excuse and for a moment Damen expected to see him stand up again and walk to the desk, maybe choose a book and decide to spend the night there, reading at the dim light of a candle.

 

For a moment Laurent seemed to expect himself to do so as well, his muscles ready for him to stand up, but then something  shifted imperceptibly, and he leaned back, the weight of his upper body supported by his hands, open on the bed.

 

A few more heartbeats passed and Laurent gathered his legs under himself, a boyish pose that made Damen’s chest warm.

“Come, I won’t be able to sleep without you” Damen coaxed, rolling on his side

“You would sleep all the same” Laurent countered, but let himself be pulled down, settling easily into his lover’s arms, the  bounced up muscles of his back relaxing a fraction at the warmth of Damen’s broad chest.

 

“What happened today?” Damen asked, lips brushing their way up the white expanse of neck in front of him. 

He felt how Laurent stilled, tensing impossibly further in his arms, breathing going careful and controlled. 

“Nothing happened today” one shoulder raised in a carefree shrug “my day was boring” 

The reply was calm and natural, enough that it might have fooled Damen a few months earlier, but not now, not now that he  knew how Laurent was in his daily life when he was happy.

“Something must have happened my dear, you look worried”

The tension in the lithe body in front of him seemed close to its peak, as if Laurent were ready to pull himself away and spring out of bed, as distant from Damen as possible, but after another moment the hard line of his white shoulders deflated, a low sigh coming from him.

“Must you always read me so well? Is my control over myself so poor?”

“Your control is as excellent as always” Damen admitted “I merely know what to look for”

 

It was with mild surprise that Damen saw the young man in his arms turn around, adjusting their position enough that he could rest his forehead on the hollow of Damen’s shoulder, the pale hair parting around the shell of one perfect ear and Damen had to resist the impulse to kiss the top of that golden head.

 

He felt the shifting of tense muscles under his hands and consciously relaxed his own body, waiting for Laurent to be ready to  speak, silence stretching between and around them, the sound of the sea faint in the distance.

 

Laurent’s next words came as a shock after the long pause, voice cold and controlled, belied only bythe frantic heartbeat  Damen could feel, as quick as a bird’s against the cage of his chest 

“I went to see Paschal this morning, he informed me that my heat won’t be coming this year”

Damen frowned in thought

“Why, are you sick?”

“No, I’m pregnant”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! thank you so much for all those nice comments, I love reading them!  
> I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it, this fic is my first try at writing for this fandom (so please be gentle lol) but I love Damen and Laurent too much not to try :)  
> Hope you like this new chapter too ^.^

Damen frowned in thought

“Why, are you sick?”

“No, I’m pregnant”

 

* * *

 

Laurent’s voice didn’t break but Damen could feel the shallowness of his breathing, the rapid raising and falling of his chest under the plain night shirt, the concealed edge of panic.

Damen kept still as the words sank in with their full weight.

A child, an heir for their kingdom was growing in his lover’s womb. 

His heart felt full enough to burst but he knew to thread carefully.

He could easily see that the other was afraid.

 

Damen kept quiet and ran a comforting touch up the marble of Laurent’s back, light enough not to scare him away, trying to stop the fine tremors of the muscles there, waiting for him to speak again.

“I was foolish, that night at Mellos… I thought the risk was low enough, I thought I wouldn’t live more than another fortnight anyway—”

“Laurent, it is alright…” Damen wished for a way to stop the fright obvious in his lover’s tone and couldn’t find one

 

“It is not, I’ve been a fool and now this— I don’t…”

“Laurent, we can do anything you want—”

“I don’t know what I want!” 

Came the strangled reply, the body in Damen’s arms stiffened again, hard with nervous tension “I’ve been _trying_ to think all day and I can’t—!”

Damen held him tighter, following instinct even as reason told him not to push too much, that Laurent might break under the tension and storm away to collect himself.

Against all odds the lean, pale body sagged in his grip, the ragged breath reverting back to tightly controlled gasps of air 

“We’re not married, not even officially mated… I’m not even king yet—” 

Damen hushed the other man as he heard the edge of panic flare again in his strained voice 

“I know this isn’t the best of times, and I remember you not wanting children, I won’t force you Laurent, I wouldn’t resent your decision”

 

The words were followed by a long silence, all he could hear was the struggle the prince went through to get his breathing back under control but even then the pulse in his white neck wouldn’t slow down.

“All I know, is that the thought of getting rid of it is unbearable…” Laurent finally admitted, voice quiet and a little unsteady against olive skin “when I look at you, when I _think_ of you, I can’t think of doing it…”

Damen kissed the feather-soft golden hair right behind his ear 

“I can make you my mate, I can marry you, all it takes is you telling me you want it”

“I don’t want to appear weak, my people will think all I’m good for is opening my legs for an alpha…”

“They can’t say anything once we’re married”  
“Getting married is going to take time, and time is what we don’t have”

“Laurent, we’ve come this far, together we rule two kingdoms, there’s nothing we can’t do”

 

The words seemed to work, the prince’s muscles unlocking slightly as a long breath escaped him, a new tension rising in him, the familiar kind that told of his brilliant mind aimed at a goal.

“I want you to mate me then.” He said with finality “officially, publicly as it’s done in Vere, the ceremony is simple, two weeks will be enough to plan”

“Publicly?” 

“We don’t need to fuck in front of the court, you just have to bite me” Laurent said in a flat tone “I know how sensitive you Akielons are to anything involving being sexual in public. Once we’re mated the child will be legitimate enough, even if it’s apparent I’m pregnant before we’re married”

Damen paused, long enough that Laurent pulled himself away to look up at him, brow furrowed as he worried at his bottom lip, the most endearing image Damen could picture.

“You said you would mate me if I asked…”

“I will, I want to mate you, it’s just… is this what you want?” He hesitated before going on “I don’t want you to feel like you have to keep this child”

 

It hurt Damen more than he had expected to drag those words out, for an heir was something he knew he wanted, an heir that was his and Laurent’s blood even more so, but it was something he had been willing to give up and never think of again.

Because he knew how the thought stirred something deep and painful in the man he loved, he had resolved not to bring it up in the future, they could have found other ways to choose an heir.

 

Laurent looked at him for a long moment, blue eyes dark in the dim light of the room as he touched Damen’s bare chest with unsteady fingers 

“It does not matter what I want… I wanted to go back to Paschal tomorrow morning and ask him for a vial or a powder that could stop this, but the thought of it turns my stomach… this child is yours and I’m terrified of what is going to happen, but I can’t bring myself to do it…”

The clear voice faltered and Laurent looked incredibly young and painfully out of his depth as Damen’s hand rose to cup his cheek, thumb brushing the high line of his fine bones.

“I’ll be with you Laurent, as long as you’ll have me”

He felt the young man lean into his touch, drawing a breath at the familiar words and bringing his head forward for a chaste kiss.

 

 

It took Laurent hours to fall asleep after that, he refused to move from his position, face hidden in his lover’s broad, dark chest, held fast in those capable arms. 

It felt like the only way he could keep himself from crumbling apart, the threat of panic still too close to the surface for comfort.

 

Opening his eyes in the clear light of the morning, Laurent was afforded perhaps a few moments of blissful forgetfulness before the events of the previous night came back to him.

He contrasted the unsteady swirling of his emotions by gazing at the man still holding him, the largebody pliant in the comfort of a peaceful slumber and Laurent tried desperately to quell the rising tide of fear in his stomach, coming in waves that sped up his heart and made breathing difficult.

When he realized that he couldn’t do it he moved on the bed, half rising as he leant on his elbow, and woke the powerful king with a soft shake at the shoulder.

 

The first thing Damen was aware of were the two eyes staring at him, blue and beautiful as always in the morning light and he smiled easily, hands running up and down a smooth side, the unblemished skin under his fingers still warm with sleep.

His smile faltered when Laurent’s plump lips tightened into a stern line and the young man ducked his head enough to hide once more in the safety of Damen’s neck.

“Tell me again…” came the uncertain voice, a tone uncharacteristic for the prince of Vere “tell me again that I can choose, please—” 

Laurent cut himself off and Damen kissed his shoulder, where the unlaced shirt had slid open enough to reveal porcelain skin

“The choice is yours, I’ll do anything you want, I’ll be with you whatever your decision is”

Laurent’s breathing seemed to come a little easier after that, and slender arms locked behind Damen’s neck in an unspoken gesture of thanks.

 

* * *

 

 

Damen spent the following two weeks in a flurry of arrangements that made his head spin and fouled Laurent’s mood further.

Preparing for a mating ceremony between royalty had thrown the palace in overdrive, servants rushing back and forth, kyroi being hurriedly invited to attend, clothes and foods being chosen.

After days of special preparations and ordinary administration, most of Damen’s evenings were spent doing what was possible to make his future mate relax, the brilliant mind tangled up in a maze of overthinking.

 

“You’re too tense” he dared venturing one early night, while Laurent sat at the desk still writing 

“I’m busy, there’s a difference” he quipped back, not bothering to raise his head

“You look like stubbornness is the only thing keeping you upright” Damen sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

The muscle under his hand tensed slightly before Laurent reply 

“It’s called willpower, I thought you liked that in me”

Damen couldn’t help a chuckle, moving both hands on the man’s shoulders in a slow massage as he felt Laurent soften under his touch. 

This was familiar, he could feel some of the tension melt away between them, and Damen let himself speak unchecked.

“You know everything will be alright, the ceremony will be perfectly fine”

Damen knew he had said the wrong thing when the muscles under his hands stiffened again. 

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, I had plans for the coming years, plans that are useless now”

“We can make different plans then”

Laurent gave a derisive snort 

“We don’t have much of a choice, do we?”

 

 

Damen knew that the way Lurent was pushing himself was worrying, the prince was being merciless with his body, allowing it no rest at day and only a few hours at night. When he wasn’t busy organizing the mating ceremony he was away riding or discussing with the council or even training with his guard.

The king of Ios couldn’t stop him, no matter how convincing he tried to sound, how welcoming he tried to make their rooms look, Laurent kept stubbornly driving himself ragged. 

Damen knew better than reminding him how his actions might be detrimental to the pregnancy, he had tried once and was met with a glacial rage he hadn’t been on the receiving end of in a long time. 

After that Laurent still refused to hear him utter a single word about his daily routine. 

Damen kept quiet, and kept a close eye on his lover, looking for a way to help him, or more realistically waiting ready to catch him when and if he fell.

 

 

Looking back, Damen could see how the signs that something wasn’t quite right had been there from the morning, when he had awoken to Laurent rushing out of bed to throw up, or even from the evening before, when a hint of pain had been obvious in the way he held himself. 

Damen had simply assumed that the first symptoms were finally catching up with him and hadn’t worried too much, glad that Laurent allowed him to run a comforting hand up and down his tense back while he heaved.

Laurent’s face had been unusually pale after that, the color not coming back to his cheeks until late into the morning. 

Him being physically unwell obviously meant that Damen wasn’t allowed to offer his support with basically anything without Laurent snapping at him, so Damen resigned to going on with his daily duties, meeting people and reading papers, losing sight of his mate to be for the remainder of the day.

It was well into the evening and after dinner when he managed to properly look at Laurent again. During the meal he had had the vague feeling that Laurent was still feeling sick, because of the way he held himself and the rigidity in his stance, but now in the dim light and quiet of their shared rooms Damen frowned in worry. 

He could easily hear the way the prince tried to control his own breathing, and away from the eyes of the court Laurent let his guard slip, lips pressed into a tense line and steps stiff as he walked to the bed.

 

“Attend me” 

He said after a moment of uncertainty, and Damen was quick to undo the laces running up his neck and wrists and free him of his jacket. 

He dared slide an arm around the lean waist, the palm of his hand touching the creamy skin under the shirt, and felt a spike of both relief and worry when Laurent went uncharacteristically pliant against the contact.

 

“Laurent, what’s wrong?” He couldn’t help but ask.

When no answer came he pressed on.

“I can tell you’re in pain, will you let me help?”

“Or what, will you make me hurt more if I don’t?” 

Laurent retorted in a cold voice and Damen almost took a step back as he remembered pressing his thumb into a freshly injured shoulder. 

Instead, he looked into the blue eyes in front of him, this wasn’t usual, Laurent’s walls had stopped going up against him months ago. 

It was with a deep sense of unease that Damen realized that Laurent was scared, probably on the verge of panic if the quickening of his breathing was any clue.

“You know I won’t hurt you again, tell me what’s wrong”

 

The little color still on Laurent’s cheeks drained abruptly in front of Damen before he could get an answer, and for a moment Damen thought the omega was about to vomit the little food he had eaten earlier.

He realized that wasn’t the case when Laurent’s right hand flew to his stomach while his left gripped Damen’s shoulder viciously, head bowing with the effort of not curling up against the pain.

 

Understanding came to Damen quickly at that point, but he mentally cursed himself for being so slow at catching on.

“Laurent, it’s alright, you just need to rest”

Damen hoped his voice sounded reassuring enough while he supported the other man’s weight, laying him down on the bed.

His chest tightened when Laurent rolled onto his side, face hidden into the pillow, and refused to let go of Damen’s arm.

“Don’t leave—”

“I’ll be right back” he promised as he swallowed drily “just the time to call for Paschal”

 

 

Damen’s urgent tone must have been convincing enough to the guard stationed outside their door, for the old doctor came shortly after, aspect ruffled by hurrying through the corridors of the palace.

It still felt like too much time had passed and Damen gave an impatient look without rising from the side of the bed where he was sitting, hand mechanically rubbing Laurent’s back.

 

The doctor approached and Damen was glad to notice that Laurent was able uncurl himself enough for Paschal to check his condition. 

 

“Does it hurt when I touch you, your highness?” The doctor asked in a calm voice, fingers exploring the flat plane of the prince’s abdomen

“No, it doesn’t”

“Here?” He pressed firmly low under his navel and Damen heard him breathe in sharply. 

Another, less controlled man might have winced.

“…yes” came the almost unwilling response. 

Paschal nodded and went on prodding 

“Has the pain been constant?”

“No, and it was manageable until now”

“I had warned you against this your highness, your body needs to be taken care of right now, not pushed to its limits”

 

Damen saw Laurent stiffen with ill concealed rage, and marveled at how he simply huffed out in irritation. 

He suspected that had it been anybody else but Paschal, they wouldn’t have been so lucky.

 

The physician went on calmly 

“You will take the drug I mixed for you, it will help relax your muscles, and tonight you will rest”

Laurent gave a rigid nod

“Tomorrow I will visit you again, but you’re forbidden from leaving your rooms”

“You forbid me?” Laurent’s tone was almost amused 

“Your own body forbids you your highness, the pains won’t stop if you don’t stop pushing it”

 

 

Once the physician had left, Laurent let his head fall back into the pillows with a sigh, the drug still only half drunk on the small bedside table. 

“You should finish it” Damen ventured 

Laurend made a face, a childish gesture that made Damen smile in relief 

“It tastes vile and will make me feel drunk”

“Paschal said it would stop the pain”

“It’s nothing I can’t endure” 

Damen couldn’t resist caressing the sharp line of his jaw 

“You don’t have to endure it, I don’t want you to punish yourself like this”

Laurent’s gaze became a little more guarded as he looked up at him and Damen pushed out the next words even though it pained him.

“You’re hurting yourself because of this child, this is dangerous Laurent, I can live without an heir”

 

He saw a sudden emotion that he couldn’t place, flicker behind Laurent’s eyes for a moment, but then the prince looked away, turning his head with a firm movement that dislodged Damen’s hand from his cheek.

“Get out” came suddenly the firm voice.

Damen was so taken aback he did not move a muscle 

“What?”

“I said get out, leave me alone”

“No, did I say—”

“Damen, leave me alone, _please_ ”

That last word was said in such a small, strained tone, that it stopped any fight he might have wanted to put up, and Damen rose from the bed, still looking slightly uncertain 

“Will you be alright?”

Laurent wouldn’t turn to look at him and Damen wished he could reach out and touch him, reassure him that he was safe and loved, but he knew better than to do that now. 

He knew that the prince needed space to think.

When Laurent gave a small nod of assent Damen sighed and left the rooms.


	3. Chapter 3

 

Laurent was too ashamed to admit even to himself that he cried that night, that the heavy doors of their rooms had barely closed behind Damen before hot tears were forcing their way out of his eyes and down his cheeks.

Sobs made his shoulders shake in a way he hadn’t let happen since he was much younger, since much worse things had happened to him.

What was he even crying for? He wasn’t sure.

Was he crying because he was terrified of the thing growing inside him? Because it scared him even more that he couldn’t bring himself to ask Paschal to get rid of it? Because Damen had once again surpassed all his expectations by being kind to him when he less deserved it?

Laurent had acted on impulse, unable to stop the hot knot in his throat when Damen had implied that he would rather have him in full health than an heir of his own blood.

He couldn’t bear to look into those open, dark eyes for a moment longer. He didn’t deserve this, didn’t deserve Damen caring for him like that.

Would he still look at him the same way if he knew? If he told him why he was so scared?

What really upset him, made his skin crawl with the terrifying loss of control he was experiencing, more than his own body betraying him, was that he just couldn’t end this pregnancy, he couldn’t do that to Damen, to their child, he couldn’t even think of doing the same thing he had done when— 

Laurent shook his head, turning on the bed and pressing he heels of his hands hard into his eyes to stop the tears, willing sleep to come fast for him so that he could stop feeling miserable and weak, and hoping that morning would bring light and Damen back with it.

 

Laurent’s hope of escaping into unconsciousness was in vain, for sleep evaded him for a long time, long enough that his head began to ache with the lack of rest and the hot pain in his abdomen spiked up again and made him clench his teeth until he gave in, and drank the rest of the drug Paschal had mixed for him.

That seemed to finally allow his body to relax, jaw unclenching, mind slowing down, letting him finally slip into a blessedly dreamless sleep.

 

* * *

 

When consciousness came back to him the sun was already bright in the sky.

It didn’t surprise him since it had been almost dawn when he had managed to fall asleep.

He was still annoyed that his morning had been wasted.

He looked around the room, to the empty half of the bed next to him, and knew that Damen had stayed away from him. And Laurent felt surprisingly glad for it, glad that when he needed space all he had to do was ask and Damen would let him be.

It reminded him that he was free to think, to draw into himself and not be disturbed until he asked for him to come back.

He felt safe, knowing that the guards outside his door must have been given the order not to let anybody in unless he called for them.

Laurent gave a small, almost inaudible sigh before sitting up on the bed. Despite being still sore, slightly nauseous and a bit dizzy, he felt better than he had the night before. If anything, he felt more in control and could think more clearly. 

What he wanted now was breakfast, the day’s reports and Damen.  So he stood up, the shock of the cold marble floor going up his bare feet while he walked to the door, ordering one of the guards to go fetch the king.

 

 

Damen walked as fast as he could down the corridor without giving the impression that he was running. He had been waiting all morning for Laurent to call for him, to make sure that his lover was alright and that he was still welcome in their rooms. 

When he walked through the door, the vision in front of him was lovely enough to be a painting: Laurent, in his oversized sleep shirt, sitting on the bed in a pool of golden light, one leg drawn up to support the book he was reading, a platter of sliced fruit sitting beside him.

When he looked up Damen felt a rush of warmth in his chest at the way the prince’s eyes softened above a relaxed smile.

Damen smiled too, taking broad steps toward him, eager to close the distance between them, heart leaping when Laurent opened up his arms to welcome him into their bed.

 

“How do you feel?” Damen finally asked in between slow, languid kisses, happy to feel the muscles under his touch relaxed and loose.

“I’m alright, I slept the whole morning”

Damen nodded, nuzzling into Laurent’s neck, one hand playing with the fair hair of his lover, golden like a halo in the sun of late morning

“Has Paschal visited you yet?” He asked pulling back slightly, enough to take in the faint shadows still under Laurent’s eyes.

“Yes, he reminded me not to leave my rooms until tomorrow and forbade me from being productive,I’m not to put strain on my fragile state by reading reports, so books it is”

Damen smiled, arms circling him and bringing him close again 

“You’re being alarmingly compliant today”

He could feel the hesitation in Laurent’s body before the answer came 

“Paschal is right… he forgets I am not a fragile omega, but yesterday was… unnecessarily painful, and dangerous. I want to apologize for being reckless”

 

Damen kissed him again, enjoying the warmth of Laurent’s body against his own, the firm frame of his shoulders and the toned muscles of his back, his hands exploring skin he knew intimately.

“Stop” 

Laurent’s voice was little more than a whisper but Damen stilled immediately, pulling back and giving a surprised look at his lover’s flushed face

“Did I hurt you?”

Laurent shook his head and looked away from him in what seemed an uncharacteristic moment of shyness. 

“It’s just… I am not made of stone”

Damen understood, and looked down Laurent’s body, to the enticing imprint of the hard nipples against his loosely laced shirt, all the way to where Laurent’s arousal was obvious through the sheer night shirt he was wearing. 

“It has never been a problem before” he said with an amused smile, but Laurent pushed him away with a firm hand on his chest 

“No, according to Paschal we can’t fuck until the pains stop for good”

Damen paused with a confused look 

“You said you were alright”

“I am” he sighed “just sore, it only hurts once in a while”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is shorter than the others, but I thought I would rather update with a short one than wait to be done editing more since there are still parts I'm working on.
> 
> Please comment if you like it! :)


	4. Chapter 4

The remaining week leading to the mating ceremony passed calmly enough, Laurent’s health going back to normal as he finally allowed himself to take the rest he needed.

The day of the ceremony was a tiring thing, it started early in the morning with servants dressing them both in the richest costumes of their respective cultures.

 

Damen’s dress took little more than usual, for his pure white chiton, hemmed in gold, was simply adorned with a heavy red cape held in place by a golden brooch forged into the likeness of a lion.

It took almost no time at all to put on, especially if compared to what Laurent was methodically being laced into.

Over a thin, silk shirt was a vest, and over that the most intricate jacket Damen had seen so far, laces were fastened at almost every juncture.

Still, the final result was stunning, making the prince look so golden he was almost blinding, the fine cream of the ivory silks laced tightly at his wrists, neck and shoulders, a long straight line of gold running down the enticing curve of his back.

His hair was getting longer, and it was combed back to show the gold circlet around his head.

 

Damen smiled at Laurent’s bored expression and offered him his arm.

“Ready to be my mate?” He asked, and was happy when the other’s lip curved slightly up in a small, private smile.

 

“You’ll be mine as much as I’m yours” Laurent pointed out and Damen bowed his head in assent.

 

 

The ceremony itself came later into the day, after the formalities of the occasion, when they were finally called to stand in front of the Veretian council and the Akielon kyroi, all reunited to witness their union. 

The words were spoken in both languages, clear voices enunciating the meaning of the bond they were about to take, but Damen barely listened to any of it, too busy taking in the beauty of the man in front of him.

Of course he had knows that Laurent’s looks were uncommonly good, it did not take him a new fine dress to see that, not when he had already had the honor of tracing the fine bones of that face with his fingers, or when he had seen the way those pale eyelashes fluttered closed in the dim light of a fireplace.

Still, even as this came as no surprise to Damen, he still could barely believe that the cold prince of Vere was letting him seal their lives together like this, in a way that could be broken but would still have left its mark on their bodies.

 

Damen was lost enough in his thoughts that at first he missed his cue, Laurent’s eyes twinkling with amusement as he momentarily stumbled over his words in the hushed silence of the room, before his voice grew steady and sure again.

“I, Damianos, King of Ios, willingly take you as mate for the rest of my days, and freely offer you my neck, in a sign of love and affection, for you are to stay my equal in all things as you’ve always been, and for I yearn to be yours just as much as you will be mine”

 

Damen could hear the shocked murmur passing through the gathered court like a shudder, it only grew while he bent his knee, drawing the cloth of his chiton far enough with his hand to expose the juncture of neck and shoulder.

This was uncommon, unheard of in Vere’s history and recorded in Akielos’ maybe a handful of times as far as it concerned royalty. 

Damen was an alpha, and he was supposed to simply mark and claim Laurent as his possession.

 

The idea was ridiculous in his mind, Laurent was his own man and no one could own him, certainly not Damen.

The king of Akielos waited for the bite without as much shame as he had expected he would feel, at such a public display of intimacy.

First he felt Laurent’s hand cradling his head, the slender fingers running through his black curls. 

It stayed there, comforting, while he bent his head to Damen’s neck.

When Laurent’s teeth sank into his flesh he grimaced, but did not flinch, Laurent’s other hand light and steadying on his shoulder. 

There was no physical pleasure in this for Damen, no glands for the bite to entice, no sudden rush of arousal to expect, but as he lifted his head back up and rose to his feet, blood staining his chiton bright red, he felt proud of bearing the visible mark of their union.

 

Laurent was promptly given a kerchief to wipe his mouth with and once he was done he swiftlybegan undoing the many laces of his collar as he spoke.

“I, Laurent, crown prince of Vere, take you as mate for all my days to come and offer you, in devotion and submission, my whole body and the heart beating in my chest with the hope that you will cherish it.”

 

Damen knew that this was simply the common ritual phrase for the mating ceremony in Vere, spoken with more or less sincerity by every omega who mated, but the way in which the words left Laurent’s mouth and the inviting tilt of that white neck still made his pulse quicken and his breath falter as he drew closer.

 

He held Laurent’s shoulder in what he hoped would feel like a steadying gesture, getting a bit lost in the sweet scent of the omega, strong at the base of his neck and made stronger still when Damen brushed his lips over the warm skin in a chaste kiss, indulging in a private moment of tenderness.

He felt Laurent’s body relax slightly under his touch, and dared to rest his other hand at the small of his back.

 

When he bit down, hard enough to draw blood, he felt Laurent stiffen, pale hands coming to clasp at Damen’s arms, and for a moment he almost let go, scared of having done it wrong.

But then he felt the forceful shiver run through Laurent’s body, the irregular exhale that in a less controlled person would have been a moan, and knew that he had managed to bite close enough to the gland he had blindly aimed for.

He carefully licked the wound he was responsible for, and then lifted his head to look at it, satisfied that it would leave a neat scar.

 

When his gaze shifted to Laurent’s slightly hooded, darkened eyes, to the way he swallowed dryly, Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, and to his suggestively parted lips, Damen could not control himself and he bowed his head again to kiss him deeply, uncaring of the breach in protocol that stated they shouldn’t touch each other again till the end of the banquet that was to follow.

 

* * *

 

It was a struggle, having Laurent so close the whole evening, and being forbidden all touch, Damen couldn’t even taste the food he was eating, Laurent’s scent was so fresh in his memory, it cast into shadow everything else.

Damen’s eyes were constantly drown to the red imprint on Laurent’s ivory jacket, left by the blood he had spilled to seal their bond. 

It was an intentional part of the ceremony, to have him dressed mainly in white, so that even a few drops would be obvious to everyone.

He could tell that Laurent was fighting his own internal battle, sitting more straight than necessary, speaking less than usual, and careful not to meet eyes with him.

He could see the restrained tension in his body, the unusual pink flush high on his cheeks, and now that they were bonded, he could smell him better, could perceive subtle shifts in sheet that he did not understand yet, but would come to know with time.

 

Laurent was so incredibly happy when they finally retired to their rooms after all the niceties of the banquet, that he almost sighed in relief.

His whole body had been tense as a bowstring, and he was now itching to get out of his restricting clothes.

“Come attend me” he said with a look over his shoulder “I can’t undo the lacing at my back”

He wasn’t surprised when Damen’s mouth went to his jaw while he worked on the laces that run all the way down his back, all Laurent could do was keep himself upright even as all he wanted was to collapse on the bed and be fucked into the soft mattress.

Damen could probably tell how impatient he was, if not by his inability to stand completely still, then by the wild fluctuations of his scent.

He undid the lacing at his own wrists hastily, struggling out of his jacket as soon as Damen was done at his back, all of that distance between them was suddenly unbearable, all of the clothing between them was a ridiculous hindrance.

 

“Aren’t you eager?” Laurent could hear the smirk in Damen’s words even before turning in his arms and seeing it.

“I have recently been mated, I believe this is a common reaction on my part”

Damen laughed at that, and Laurent let his own lips curl up as the other kissed him deeply, pulling him flush against his body.

 

Damen simply couldn’t resist him, and had no reason to try to, the prince was half naked and pliable in his arms, the sweetness of his scent mouthwatering and the darkness of his half lidded eyes a promise all of itself.

 

“I want you Laurent” Damen almost groaned the words, face buried in his pale neck, tracing the soft skin with his lips. 

He could feel him shudder minutely before replying in a breathless tone

 

“You can have me”

 

* * *

 

All things considered their mating ceremony had been a success, the city of Ios was still wild with gossip about it a full week later and Damen was simply glad that it was done and that it allowed Laurent some peace of mind.

 

Said peace of mind was shortly lived, because although the pains had since stopped, other symptoms had manifested.

Laurent worked hard on appearing still flawless in public, most probably harder than would have been deemed safe, but behind closed doors Damen witnessed the toll the pregnancy was taking on his body.

The night would often be interrupted by nausea as Laurent rarely could keep down what they’d had for dinner, and no matter how early they retired to sleep, the prince was tired for most of the day after.

Paschal had reassured them that it was all normal and to be expected of a progressing pregnancy, but it surely didn’t make matters easier.

 

 

“You should stay in bed today”

Damen had tried to convince Laurent with the softest of tones. 

“And let you rule the whole kingdom? Don’t make me laugh”

“I won’t do anything drastic in one day”

“One can never be sure”

 

Damen had sighed, fixing the gold brooch at his own shoulder while he observed his mate, still in bed despite his protests, the delicate skin under his eyes had turned a darker shade than usual. 

“You’ve been up almost all night, you should rest longer”

Laurent rubbed at his eyes, unable to stifle a yawn 

“The court will talk if I stay in bed all day, they’ll say I’m sick”

Damen sat back down, taking Laurent’s left hand and bringing the palm to his lips 

“Don’t overwork yourself today, will you do something light so I don’t have to worry?”

Laurent raised an eyebrow and looked at him with the hint of a smile

“You resemble Paschal more and more, should I worry about your hair turning gray like his?”

Damen kissed his exposed wrist 

“You might turn my hair white with worry”

He was delighted to hear Laurent laugh, a free, joyous sound that was still new enough to make him melt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one I'm afraid, but I promise the next chapter will be longer.  
> Leave a comment if you'd like! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much for all your comments! You keep me motivated to write more! Hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm afraid Laurent is in for some more trouble before things get easier for him, but luckily Damen is with him!

Laurent was very nearly twenty-one and with his approaching coming of age, it was imperative to start preparations on his Ascension. 

Damen felt more and more like some sort of mother hen, trying to convince him not to travel far in his condition.

Predictably enough, his worry only irked Laurent more, whose mood seemed to be stuck on the sour side.

The prince was irremovable, his Ascension was to be celebrated at Marlas and he was to reach it on horseback despite what anybody else dared to say.

 

Damen attempted to reason with him one last time the night before their departure from the palace of Ios was scheduled, while he lay in bed, Laurent still waking around the room, barefoot in his large night shirt.

“You know, we could postpone your Ascension, or have it here at the palace or somewhere closer”

Laurent’s gaze was cold enough to make him quiet 

 

“We are leaving for Marlas tomorrow and in the span of three weeks at most I will have my crown Damen, if you don’t want to come you only have to say so”

Damen sighed, raising one hand in a gesture of surrender 

“Of course I want to be there, I’m just worried—”

“You worry too much, I have let you schedule the route and we will be stopping so often it will take us almost one week more than the usual. I suggest you stop trying to dissuade me or you will have to wait months before I part my legs for you again”

Damen smirked at that, welcoming the weight of his mate’s body into their shared bed, his warmth into his arms

“Your actions don’t match your words sweetheart”

“Perhaps I’m trying to remind you what you’ll be missing”

Damen smiled at him, one hand curved around his waist and the other brushing a lock of golden hair from his forehead 

“As if I could forget what it is like… I shouldn’t take you now, we ride tomorrow”

“I don’t mind, I like the sensation of you inside me”

_Blunt and honest as usual_

Damen thought while he kissed him, lips trailing down to his neck, to the sensitive gland he had bitten less than ten days before.

He undid the already loose laces of his shirt, hands caressing up and down the warm expanses of creamy skin, touching pink, perked nipples with the tip of his fingers.

Laurent breathed out long and slow at that, and Damen wanted to put his mouth to every inch he had uncovered.

He kissed one nipple, fingers rolling the other and felt Laurent make a small, pleased sound at that traveled all the way down his spine.

After long minutes of attention to Laurent’s chest, Damen drew back to look at him, the most enticing picture with his golden hair fanned out over the pillows, his lips parted and his nipples rosy with kissing and biting.

Damen looked at him, trying to rein in the force of his desire and taking in the slight changes of his lover’s body, pale in the silver light of the night.

 

“You are beginning to show” he said with slight wonder, touching the barely there curve of Laurent’s stomach

“Are you trying to say I look fat?”  
“I’m trying to say our child is growing”

Damen kissed the warm skin of his abdomen, and felt Laurent stiffen under him, squirming away hastily.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Laurent looked away, one hand on his stomach and brow creased as if deep in though

“I don’t know…”

Damen was unable to read his expression for a long moment, until it shifted into something he had seen many times recently, the downturning of lips pressed together and the scrunching up of his nose 

“I think I’ll be sick—”

 

 

Laurent was predictably and annoyingly sick for most of the night before their departure, Damen clumsily attending to him as he emptied his stomach over and over until it settled enough for him to keep down water sweetened with honey.

Sleeping was a difficult feat when his insides continuously threatened to escape through his mouth.

He was curled up against Damen’s chest, one large arm draped over his shoulders, trying to find comfort in the warmth of the Akielon king.

 

Damen talking about the thing growing inside him, touching his stomach in a way that was unmistakably short of adoring, had felt right at first. 

For a dizzying moment he had felt proud, as if the changes his body was battling with were worth it all, because he was carrying the child of the best man he knew.

And then in the span of an heartbeat it had felt so wrong, so revolting, his insides still twisted with disgust at the thought. 

Laurent wasn’t sure which reaction disturbed him more.

He wasn’t sure of what he was doing in general, for the first time in his life he wasn’t planning ahead because he just couldn’t.

He felt panic spike in him in a way he hadn’t felt since he was little more than a child, when he tried to think of what was to come.

He knew he wasn’t exactly doing this for Damen, knew Damen had told him over and over that he didn’t have to carry this child.

What he was sure of was that although he couldn’t show it, he was scared of what was happening, of the uncertainty and the contradicting reactions he kept having.

All he could do was hope that Damen would be true to his word as he always was, and that he would stay by his side the whole time.

 

* * *

 

During their journey to Marlas Damen was incredibly glad for all the stops he had planned ahead, most of which were in inns or a few days spent in the residences of Akielon nobility, eager to receive their king and prince in their best rooms and show off what they could afford.

Damen was glad because despite all of his insisting against it, Laurent obviously needed to rest in a bed at night and to spend some days off of horseback.

 

Of course none of the soldiers they had brought with them could have guessed that anything was out of the ordinary, and Damen was impressed as usual with how good his mate was at carrying himself in any situation.

The nausea seemed to have gradually subsided during their first week of travel, but as soon as they were alone, away from the eyes of the soldiers or their hosts, fatigue was obvious in the way Laurent slumped against any nearest surface, eyes closed and brow pinched as he held himself upright.

At night all they had time to do was cuddle for a few minutes before Laurent was immediately asleep.

 

Unexpectedly they had to stop more than five days at an inn when they were only one riding day away from Marlas.

In the morning it had been obvious that what in the evening was nothing more than a slight throbbing at his temples had developed in a splitting headache that prevented even someone as strong-minded as Laurent from rising and walking, leave alone riding.

Paschal pronounced it a product of dehydration, too much sun, physical exertion and also something to be expected if a pregnant omega were reckless enough to embark on a ride almost three weeks long.

He had to rest in bed, the curtains drawn around it to shield him from the offending light of day, his restlessness only soothed when Damen came to him with a book, reading it out loud as one would for a child.

 

Needless to say, Laurent’s mood was more than a little sour by the time they finally did arrive at Marlas, where almost everything was ready for his Ascension.

 

In the few days it took for all of the guests to arrive and for the preparatives to be done with, Damen was happy that the most tiring activity Laurent was subjected to was the refitting of his new dress, a triumph of gold and ivory.

“You will look good in it, the commoners will be happy to have someone so handsome as king”

Laurent simply nodded at the compliment.

“I know… we will have to announce the pregnancy soon”

Damen looked at him with some surprise, it was usually hard to make him talk about it

“Really?”

“Yes, the dress was tight on me already, soon it will be impossible to hide it”

Damen kept quiet, he was still unsure how to thread this conversations, Laurent still seemed somehow angry about the situation and would only rarely allow him to touch his growing stomach or allude to the child he was carrying.

On his part Damen wished he could show his happiness without reserve, that he could be allowed to take care of his mate as his every instinct suggested, that he could proudly tell the world that the fruit of his seed was growing inside someone as beautiful as Laurent.

 

He knew Laurent was battling with some decision he had made before ever meeting him, knew that children weren’t something he had wanted, but he couldn’t guess at the details, couldn’t predict what words or gestures would make Laurent angry or scared.

So Damen was careful, touching and saying only what he knew was safe.

 

On the bright side, ever since they had arrived at Marlas Laurent was feeling increasingly better, his mood considerably less dangerous because of it.

The nausea he had been suffering from on and off seemed to be fading for good, enough so that as long as he ate lightly he wouldn’t be sick, and energy was slowly coming back to him. 

 

The day of the Ascension came and went in a blur of activity, Laurent was almost blinding in the gold of his dress and hair, sunlight reflecting on the crown on his head, blue eyes bright and a smile gracing his lips from time to time.

Damen looked at the crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of the new king and felt his chest swell with pride at how much his lover had accomplished in such a short time and with so much at stake.

 

 

Meeting nobles from Vere and letting the commoners of the center see both of their kings meant that their stay in Marlas wasn’t short, and Damen was at ease now that Laurent’s health was better.

He still kept his hands off of his mate for the most part, but wasn’t shy of initiating kisses or giving a proprietary nibble at his neck after a long day apart.

It was all he could content himself with for some days, until one evening when he was sitting at his writing desk in their rooms.

Damen looked up when he heard the doors open, and saw Laurent walk inside 

“Has lady Vannes finally let you go?” He asked with a warm smile

Laurent came closer to him, leaning his hip against the edge of the desk and Damen’s smile grew as the other bent forward to kiss him.

“I grew bored, and I prefer your company to hers”

Damen was about to chuckle when the breath caught momentarily in his chest as Laurent surprised him by sliding into the space between him and the desk, sitting astride his lap.

“Yes, I can see that you would get bored of being with Vannes”

Damen said with a grin, both hands curving around Laurent’s hips and squeezing gently.

Laurent wound his arms around Damen’s neck, pushing himself closer, chest to chest and rolling his hips once with intention.

“Will you let me sit here fully dressed?” He asked with another lazy roll of his hips “don’t you want to take me?”

Damen gasped, grabbing a handful of Laurent’s toned ass.

He buried his face in the white neck in front of him, licking at the sliver of skin he could reach between his jaw and the collar of his jacket, all the while fumbling one-handedly with Laurent’s laces.

 

He felt Laurent’s chest rise and fall in a carefree chuckle as he finally managed to open up the laces enough to kiss tenderly all the way down his neck, nuzzling at the pale skin and taking in his mate’s sweet scent.

“Will you ever tire of kissing my neck?”

Laurent’s voice was playful and Damen smiled before answering 

“I could make you come with just kissing, you’re so sensitive”

A sharp intake of breath was his reward for that, followed by fingers running through his dark hair

“You bully me when I’m at my weakest point, what a cruel alpha I have chosen…”

Damen couldn’t help but laugh at that, pulling back enough to kiss Laurent’s lips and get rid of his jacket, finally enjoying the warmth that filtered though the thin white undershirt he was wearing.

“I see you’re finally feeling better”

“I am” Laurent conceded, taking Damen’s hand and guiding it down to the laces of his pants. 

Damen didn’t need much more prompting than that, palming his way up Laurent’s spread thighs and following with his fingers the outline of the hard cock behind the confining garment.

He only stopped when Laurent’s hips bucked up impatiently, and with a smile he captured his lips once more, reveling in how Laurent’s tongue demanded more as he finally undid the lacing at his crotch.

Laurent was shamelessly grinding himself against Damen’s own arousal, breathing heavily on his lips as his kisses became openmouthed and needy.

Damen was thrilled with this new eagerness, especially after such a long time without intimacy, so he slid one hand down the back of his mate’s pants, fingers ready to tease at his entrance.

When he reached it Laurent gave a shudder in his arms and Damen couldn’t stop a low groan as one finger sunk in without any resistance 

“You’re wet already” he said with wonder, his dark head resting against Laurent’s shoulder. 

It usually took time to get Laurent relaxed and pliant enough to use fingers, and his natural slick would only come later on. 

Laurent shuddered again, bowing his head and panting with an impatient wiggle of his hips. 

“You brute, stop teasing, it has been all day that all it took was a look from you to make me like this—”

He gasped as Damen slipped his finger back inside, with more purpose this time, going deeper and guiding Laurent’s hips to roll against his own.

It felt incredibly good to finally have Laurent in his arms like this, willing and yielding, chest rising and falling with heavy breathing.

Damen felt as if he could go on like that forever, content with kissing every inch of skin he could reach, with being the cause of Laurent’s labored breathing, fingers working him open lazily enough to almost be a tease.

It was Laurent who soon grew tired of their position, in which neither of them could be undressed fully.

“Lift me up, are you strong enough for that?” He taunted with the hint of a grin on his lips as he let his head fall backwards, exposing more of his neck for Damen to kiss and nibble at.

Damen breathed out a chuckle against hot skin and held Laurent’s hips more firmly, standing up without much of a warning, his lover securely balanced in his arms.

Laurent was used enough to Damen’s strength not to be surprised at the display, he simply smiled, happily wrapping his legs around the other’s waist, pushing their bodies as close together as they could go.

 

Damen placed him down on the bed, momentarily drawing up and away to look at him, taking in the disheveled blond hair, the high flush of his cheeks and the twinkle of mischief in his blue eyes.

Damen’s breath caught in his throat as Laurent looked up at him, long pale lashes fluttering as he parted his legs. 

 

He smiled and dove back in at the silent invitation, eager to make his lover feel good, to remove all of his clothing and drink in the perfect proportions of his lithe body, beautiful as a statue.

There was a still subtle but unmistakable roundness to his stomach now, the flat planes of it made gentler, and Damen found he couldn’t resist tracing down the curve first with his fingers and then with his lips, uncertain at first as he waited for Laurent’s reaction, then with breathing uneven and mouth agape as he looked up into Laurent’s darkened eyes.

 

Taking him into his mouth was like finally sating some deep need he had not realized was there and Damen groaned at how right it felt, feeling the hips buck up under his grip, Laurent’s whole body curving around his head, still unused to the sensation even though it was not the first time anymore.

 

Damen gave him his undivided attention, going slow as he knew the other liked best, his free hand caressing up and down his thigh and flank in a reassuring gesture, feeling the muscles flex until Laurent was a writhing mess under him, breathing ragged as he tugged Damen’s head away

“Stop— stop, you know I can’t—”

Laurent’s voice was as close to a breathless whimper as Damen imagined it could get.

“I want you so badly” he whispered, voice rough and lips kissing the tender skin of Laurent’s inner thigh, traveling all the way to where thigh met hip, feeling the strong pulse there and the tremors that went down the new king’s body as he fought to catch his breath. 

“What are you waiting for then?” 

The tone was a challenge, despite the sweat dampening Laurent’s fine hair, despite the way Damen could see his arousal twitch between his pale thighs 

“You can have me any way you like”

Damen smiled at the truth of those words.


	6. Chapter 6

Laurent would probably have felt ashamed of his actions had his urges not been that strong. 

The week they spent at Marlas was supposed to be an opportunity to stabilize their alliance after his Ascension, to gather information on how their union was perceived in the northern regions.

That was the purpose of their stay, not whatever Laurent was doing now.

 

He was distracted, Damen’s presence was distracting, his body, his voice, his scent. 

His absence was just as bad for that matter, it felt as if he he were missing something when they were apart.

Laurent hated it, hated being in the middle of something and accidentally catching Damen’s eye, his body coming alight with it, an urgency of desire that he wasn’t used to, that made him humiliatingly wet in a matter of minutes.

 

He could contain it as long as they were in public, as long as he had something to occupy him, but it was an effort to do so, he had never felt so constantly roused outside of his heats.

According to the physician this was normal, he had poked and prodded at him as usual, pronounced his glands swollen in some sort of mock heat due to the new changes happening in his body and said that it would soon be over.

Laurent felt queasy if he stopped to think about it, about his body being overrun by something he had no control over, making him vulnerable, making him weak.

 

His only consolation was that he knew he could trust Damen not to take advantage of his state, not to indulge him in anything that would bring him shame later.

His only hope of being productive was to avoid Damen as much as he could during the day, finally succumbing to him at night in their bed, where he was glad for his mate’s stamina and for the gentle way in which he was treated despite his own impatience.

 

* * *

 

It was probably his own need to prove himself strong and in control of everything, that led him to his decision as soon as the uncomfortable not-quite-heat was over.

The nobles reunited at Marlas for his Ascension had all been clear in telling him that the rest of his court, still at Arles, was unhappy with his prolonged absence, he would have to make an appearance soon in order to appease them, especially if he planned on having a child in Ios.

 

He decided to depart from Marlas with his guard and council, they would reach Arles in little more than a week and after that he would have to attend banquets, receive guests and be charming and witty.

Another two weeks there would be enough to make his nobles happy, then he could come back to Marlas and to Damen.

To Damen, because he was adamant that they don’t both go to Arles.

 

He had given him reasons not to come, all very reasonable and probably right, but ultimately all excuses, because if Laurent was being perfectly honest, he simply wanted to prove to himself and to everybody else that he did not need the protection of his alpha all the time.

 

“But Laurent, it’s a long way to Arles, why can’t I come with you?”

 

“Because you need to go back to Ios, Nikandros says so as well” that was the truth to be fair

 

“Akielos won’t fall if I’m away for a month”

 

“Your power is still unstable Damen, you have to go back and make sure any unrest is taken care of”

 

“Then why don’t we both go back to the palace?”

 

“Because I need to go to Arles”

Laurent was getting tired of repeating himself.

 

“But Laurent—”

 

“Damen” Laurent sighed, finally putting down his quill and turning to look at him “I will be fine, you don’t have to worry about me”

 

“You’re going to push yourself too hard” he said seriously 

 

“I won’t, and Paschal is coming with me anyway” he said standing up and placing his arms around Damen’s neck in a gesture of calm intimacy.

Damen frowned slightly, but kissed him all the same.

“Paschal thinks this is a bad idea too” he muttered 

 

“Paschal worries all the time, he has never stopped worrying ever since the day I was put in his care”

 

Damen gave him a troubled look

“What will you do when you start to show more? When clothes don’t conceal it anymore?”

 

“It will be the perfect opportunity to make it known that I must have become pregnant after our mating ceremony, I will announce our coming marriage and the court and council will be happy”

It was obvious that Damen was not convinced and that he would have much preferred going to Arles with him, or arguing some more, but Laurent was firm.

 

* * *

 

The morning of their departure, one heading north and the other south, Laurent squashed down the small part of him that opposed parting ways with his mate, reminding himself that it would not be too long before they could see each other again.

He had listened to Damen’s objections once more while they both got ready, and left him with kisses and promises to see each other soon.

 

After the first few days of riding Laurent had to admit, at least to himself, that the pace he had set was taxing on his body.

His back hurt constantly by the end of the third day, and he could not find a position in bed that helped in any way.

He refused to tell Paschal, because he would never hear the end of it if he did, so what was left for him to do was keep any complaint to himself and remember that Arles was not far as long as they kept their pace.

 

By the seventh day riding was little less than torture, Laurent could feel himself go pale every time the horse moved harshly with how much his back and hips hurt.

His countenance must have been slipping, because that night Paschal asked him if he had any pains or aches that might do better with one or two days of rest.

Still, Arles was only one more day and night away, and he wanted to get this done with as soon as he could and get the opportunity to try and see if sleeping in a real bed might help his back.

Later on he had to admit, not only to himself, but to the physician and to Damen as well, that he had been, in their own words, a fool to do so.

 

 

It was early in the morning, and they were close enough to Arles that he knew well the grounds around him, he had come this far often to ride when he was younger and had less to worry about.

Laurent was quietly regretting not listening to Paschal and stopping maybe one or two days on the road, as the whole of his lower body was in agony, but he knew that in less than another hour they would be in sight of the city.

After that he could rest, perhaps not in bed till night came, but at least he wouldn’t be on horseback anymore.

 

His thoughts were interrupted abruptly when the pain in his back flared up, sneaking all the way to his stomach and almost making him gasp.

He tried to relax his muscles, to keep his stance more natural, but the pain wouldn’t recede, it seemed to come in waves, each crest higher than the previous, until he couldn’t help a low groan.

Paschal, always suspicious, had been riding only a few paces behind him, and now hurried his horse to join that of the king.

“Your majesty, is anything the matter?”

Laurent only shook his head, and breathed in and out, it took him a conscious effort to keep a straight face.

“You are awfully pale your majesty, a few hours rest won’t matter now that we are so close”

 

Laurent was about to open his mouth to reply when he had to press his lips shut together against a pained moan, the pain was like fire low between his hips and it made him curl up on the saddle, one hand clutching at his stomach as the pain only grew, hotter and hotter until his vision became spotted and hazy, and he struggled to take a breath.

He could hear, with a disturbing distant quality, the voices of the others around him, probably hurrying to help despite not knowing what was happening.

Laurent only curled up more, unstable on his horse as he tried to make himself small and still enough to escape the pain.

Nothing seemed to work, and the darkness at the edges of his vision grew so heavy he couldn’t get rid of it by blinking anymore.

He was aware only of the pain growing impossibly, making him gasp and lose balance. The world around him shifted dangerously, and he thought that he was probably falling.

 

This wasn’t, by any means, the first time he had ever fallen from a horse, but it was the first time that he was in so much pain that he could barely do anything to make the fall less ruinous.

 

* * *

 

The pain low in his abdomen was constant and unyielding, as if a knife were being turned there, it made him curl up, vision going dark with the intensity of it.

He felt so light headed that even breathing was difficult, panic instinctively rising up in him, making it almost impossible to force another breath into his lungs.

 

Shortly after, he became aware of different kinds of pain in other parts of his body, a pain that he could recognize and categorize, that he could tell wether or not it was dangerous.

His left shoulder hurt dully and so did the corresponding hip, thats’s the side he must have hit harder on as he fell.

Something was wrong with his left ankle, but he could move it without passing out once more, so it would probably heal without consequence.

The panic still bubbling in his chest was because of the sharp cramping in his stomach, he wasn’t sure what it meant, how bad it was, was the child still there?

 

He tried to look around himself, only then realizing that some time must have passed since his fall, because he was now in a bed.

He was in his father’s bed, he recognized the high ceiling and the patterned walls, the draping curtains at the windows.

Laurent was in Arles, he forced himself to feel reassured by that, he was in his own castle after all, this was his home, he was king here now.

His hand was shaking as he dared to put it on his stomach, he had been undressed, only his shirt remained of his clothes under the covers.

 

Touching did not make the pain worse— as it would with a wound— nor better, but his stomach was firm and rounded there, as it had been the day before, and it made it easier to convince himself that the child must still be there, even though he had no real way to tell.

The uncomfortable, sticky wetness under his bottom was the next thing he became aware of, he must be bleeding.


	7. Chapter 7

Laurent felt miserable, in a sort of pain that was new in intensity to him, unable to sit up because of it, and alone in a room he had half forgotten even existed. 

At the very least it was a small relief when the doors opened and Paschal came in, carrying a tray of powders and herbs and boiling water.

It was a comforting sight, one that he had first seen when he was a child, he knew pain tended to pass or be lessened when he allowed Paschal to work.

 

“Your majesty, you’re awake”

The physician sounded surprised but pleased as he put down the tray to examine him first. 

“Unfortunately” Laurent remarked while the pain grew momentarily sharper, making him wince.

Paschal only frowned, removing the covers and the shirt in order to touch where it hurt most.

His fingers were careful as they pressed low on his stomach, going then to his hip and shoulder.

“It is by incredible luck, I would say, that the only damage you took from the fall was a sprained ankle your majesty”

Laurent nodded and sank his head back into the pillow when the pain in his stomach finally went back to a more manageable intensity.

“I am bleeding…” he made himself say

“Yes your majesty, there is nothing I can do to stop that”

“Is.. is _it_ still…?”

“The bleeding is heavy but the child is still in your womb, the risk of it miscarrying is high, but not beyond hope”

Laurent listened to him, ignoring the warring tangle of contrasting emotions the information sparked.

Paschal was mixing a few dried herbs and pouring the hot water on them, white steam rising from the cup. 

“This is for the pain your majesty, it will also help you sleep”

 

 

Laurent slept, much more than he was ever used to, and much more than he would have liked, but he had to admit that it helped. 

Every time he awoke was only for brief periods of time, Paschal would check on him and by the end of it Laurent could already feel his eyes closing once more.

The pain lessened during the course of the next day and the bleeding stopped.

 

When the physician carefully checked inside him and pressed on his stomach, he found that the pregnancy was still ongoing.

That was when Laurent ordered a messenger sent to Damen on his way to Ios, to tell him that Laurent could not ride back to him in Akielos as they had planned, because he was now on bedrest to prevent the situation from worsening.

Laurent could imagine the panicked state in which Damen would race his way to Arles, and felt shame at having caused so much trouble.

 

 

 

It had been weeks since his arrival in Arles, time passed slowly as his only distraction had been formal and informal meetings with his council and people from the court.

As he sat in bed day after day, his stomach had been growing steadily and the pain was now sporadic and only strong enough that he would have to sit still and breathe for a few moments for it to go away.

The physician was especially reassured when Laurent had started to feel small, barely there movements and little taps low in his stomach, a sign that the child was growing without trouble, he had said.

The ankle he had injured could now take his weight, and Paschal was kind enough to allow him the privilege of standing up and walking around his rooms, so that he wouldn’t go mad or die of utter boredom.

He was encouraged to spend time on the large balcony in order to take advantage of the summer sun, tame enough here in the north of Vere that he didn’t have to worry about burns.

 

* * *

 

His head throbbed without mercy as he turned in bed once more, falling asleep was becoming more difficult lately, the added weight of his growing stomach was a nuisance he would have gladly done without.

Laurent was trying to let sleep catch him, the darkness of the rooms pressing on his open eyes, when he heard unexpected noises in the halls, the hushed but urgent whispers of servants, running of boots on the soft carpets.

He sat up in alarm as he heard the confused sounds come closer, his heart sped up as one hand slid under his pillow where, out of habit, he had concealed a small knife.

It might be of some use as a lastdefense. 

 

Only moments later his doors opened without knocking, without the guard outside announcing anybody, light spilling inside from the torches in the corridor, and Laurent threw the knife at the dark silhouette that appeared.

The silhouette dodged, the knife clattered to the ground, and Laurent knew who was at his door in the dead of night.

 

“Laurent…”

“Your majesty! I apologize! The Exalted wouldn’t hear reason—”

The guard was trying to explain himself but Laurent interrupted him without preamble 

“Light the candles for me”

“I- yes, your majesty” 

The man hurried to light the candles around the room, Damen’s figure slowly emerging from he shadows as Laurent looked at him.

He was obviously only just arrived, still dirty with dust and sweat from the road, hair matted against his forehead, the smell of horses still hung around him.

 

Laurent lifted his arm up, clad in the pure white of the nightgown he was wearing.

He wanted Damen in his arms, he wanted to be held and feel the reassuring warmth of his lover’s embrace.

“Damen, won’t you come here?”

He could see the hesitation as the other took a single step closer

“I should bathe first…”

Laurent smiled 

“You’ve barged into my rooms at night as if fire were at your heels and now you won’t even greet me before taking a bath first?”

Damen came to sit on the edge of the bed, taking Laurent’s hand in his.

“I’m sorry, I must have startled you”  
Laurent shrugged

“I apologize for throwing a knife at you”

That stretched an unsure smile out of Damen and Laurent felt an ache in his chest at the physical distance between them. 

 

“I have missed you…” Laurent admitted and felt himself flush “this has been my fault—”

The distance they had kept was suddenly gone, Damen’s lips were kissing his temple, hands still linked together. 

“Don’t, I don’t care about apologies now, how are you? What’s happening?”

His voice was hoarse and his tone so full of concern that Laurent was momentarily taken aback. 

“I’m fine now” he brought the larger hand to his own cheek as if to prove the point “the child is fine too, since last week I can feel it move sometimes”

_It creeps me out_

He thought and did not say.

“I have been well enough to receive people and to discuss matters with the council in my rooms, I have to stay in bed most of the time, but I can walk around”

 

Damen did not look much reassured by his words, and closed the small distance between them again for a kiss, his free hand going up to stroke Laurent’s hair at the back of his head. 

“Receiving such news from you, when I was so far away, was terrifying Laurent, what if I was too late?”

“Damen, I am well, you can ask Paschal if you don’t believe me”

 

Laurent looked at him in the light of the candles, aware of the disheveled state of the man in front of him, who must have traveled without rest for some time in the hopes of reaching him sooner.

He kissed Damen again, he wanted to reassure him so, taking a deep breath to steady himself, he guided the large hand he had been holding, to the swell of his stomach.

He felt Damen’s pulse speed up in surprise. 

“It is hard to see with the gown, but you can feel that it has gotten bigger, we are both well. I have wished you here the whole time” he admitted, a little shyly. 

Laurent was relieved to find the contact less wrong than it had felt before, Damen’s hand under his was hot and comforting on the stretching skin of his stomach, and if it didn’t feel exactly right yet, Laurent could make it work all the same.

“It’s hard for me to sleep lately” he admitted “having you here might help”

Damen gave him a look “I still need to bathe first, I’m filthy”

Laurent nodded “Alright, tell the guard to fetch a servant to heat the water”

 

 

Later Laurent was sitting up in bed, back propped against soft cushions as he watched his mate bathe in the warm summer air. 

“If you take much longer it will be morning, Paschal will be cross that you had me spend the night awake”

“You are in bed, you could sleep while I bathe”

“I might be forbidden from fucking yet, but I can enjoy looking at you while you’re naked in my rooms”

“I would say _our_ rooms”

Laurent smiled as he watched him rise from the tub and dry himself with unhurried movements.

“You’re right, our rooms”

 

 

Damen, still naked but now dry, looked at him more attentively in the flickering light of the candles, sitting down next to his reclining form and trying to see any signs of Laurent still being in pain.

Laurent seemed to be as relaxed as Damen had ever seen him, looking up at him with a contented smile, head cradled in white cushions.

Still, to merely say that Damen was worried would have been an understatement.

He had run his horse ragged, barely stopping the previous day and riding into the night till he reached Arles, his retinue left far behind on the road.

He took Laurent’s hand again and sighed, taking in all that he could see of him that was not hid under the bed covers or his night garments.

He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t find the words.

It might have been the hour or the fatigue or the immense relief he felt every time he saw Laurent move or smile, but words that could explain how he had felt were lost on him.

 

So he climbed into bed, and as he did Laurent opened up his arms for him and made a satisfied little sound that had Damen’s chest tightening while they kissed.

“Who did you leave in Ios to take care of things?” Laurent asked quietly as they parted and looked into each other’s eyes. 

“Nikandros, he can handle it for a while”

Laurent nodded and Damen pressed their foreheads together, the tips of their noses touching lightly, a sigh leaving him.

“You had me so scared, coming here was terrifying…”

“Damen, what can I do to convince you I am fine?”

“Nothing, it’s just… I’m scared of this whole thing…”

Laurent drew back only a little, enough to see his face

“ _You_ ’re scared?”

 

Damen looked at him incredulously 

“Yes, you’re pregnant, what if something goes wrong? What if— what if it kills you, like it did with my mother?”

The words came out in a painful rush in the stillness of the night, words that Damen had barely even been aware were brewing inside him.

The thought they expressed was so painful that Damen felt his throat raw when he swallowed.

“And I know you don’t like it, I know you don’t really want this, if you are hurt because of me—”

“This is not your fault”

“I’m the one who knotted you, of course it’s my fault”

“I begged you to do it! The choice was mine, don’t try to make it sound as if I simply lied there letting you have your way with me, don’t insult me like that”

 

Damen’s reply was halted by the coldness in Laurent’s tone, by the way he had gone rigid in his arms.

“Laurent—”

“No, and about not wanting this, I would not be carrying this child if it weren’t yours, I would not—”

Laurent seemed to stop himself with great effort, Damen could see his chest rise and fall as he strictly controlled his breathing, but a cold fury was obvious in his eyes.

“There are… _things_ about me I haven’t told you yet, and maybe I should”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, looks like finally Laurent is opening up a little!  
> Don't worry guys, I'm a sucker for angst but also for fluff and happy endings lol  
> Also, the next chapter might come a bit late, because I'm going to Japan on holiday and I don't really know when I'll be able to update.  
> I live for your comments so please keep them coming :)


	8. Chapter 8

Laurent pulled further away from him, and Damen missed the solid form against his chest immediately, but sat back as well, giving him space.

Laurent was looking away from him, back straight so that all Damen could see was his profile and the slight tremor in his hands.

“You know how my uncle.. _used_ me when I was younger,” he began in a controlled voice.

Damen felt his whole body react, an involuntary jerk of his shoulders at those words, a surge of hot anger followed by the need to reach for Laurent, to tell him he did not need to know anything.

“He stopped once I presented at fifteen… a little late, I know”

“Laurent, you don’t need to—”

 

Laurent only lifted one trembling hand to ask for his silence and Damen sat back again.

“What I want you to know is that, this may not the be… the first time I’m pregnant, but it is the first time I am willing to carry and have the child.”

 

 

A heavy, thick silence stretched around them as Damen processed what Laurent had said, what it had meant, the sickening meaning of the words.

“No— this cannot be—”

 

Laurent looked at him again for the space of a heartbeat, his face made of cold stone but betrayed by the unstoppable trembling that went from his shoulders to his hands.

“You are free to feel disgusted at me now,” he said in a strained tone as if each word hurt on its way out “I know I am”

 

Damen felt sick to his stomach at the thought of what had happened, of what it must have been like, he wished to kill the man who had done such a thing, but he was already dead.

Instead, he reached out for Laurent’s hand, feeling him startle hard at his touch and draw in a fragmented breath. 

But Laurent’s hand did not move away from his.

 

This new truth hung heavy between them, and Damen felt that he needed to make it clear that he only despised the man who had done those things to him when he was a child.

“It’s your uncle who disgusts me, Laurent”

“He’s dead”

“I know, I’m sorry”

 

Laurent looked at him again, the mask of stone he wore cracking 

“He was all the family I had left, I wanted him dead…”

“I know, he wanted you dead too”

The corners of Laurent’s lips turned down, a painful expression that made Damen ache.

“I want to hold you, can I?”

Laurent looked away from him, but after a moment he nodded, coming willingly when Damen pulled him close.

Damen could still feel the slight tremor running through his body as he hugged him, hand running through his fair hair.

It took a surprisingly short time for Laurent to relax into the contact, as if he had needed the closeness, folding in on himself and letting Damen take his whole weight.

 

“This is different Laurent, this child is different” Damen tried to reassure him with words after long minutes of silence, spent in finding peace in the intimacy of their embrace, the secluded space they shared.

“I’m aware of that, I think some part of me forgets at times…”

 

* * *

 

In the morning Laurent found himself woken up by Paschal’s polite knocking at the doors.

He opened his eyes, roused from a sleep he didn’t exactly remember falling into, and saw and felt Damen holding him, face scrunched up in the moment in between sleep and awareness.

And he felt his chest warm up in a way that had nothing to do with the sun shining on them through a gap in the curtains at the window.

 

Laurent smiled when Damen opened his eyes and saw him, the grip around his body becoming firmer.

“Hello” Laurent said in a voice that barely sounded like his own, as laced with a satisfied happiness as it was, and made a sound that might have been a sigh or a moan when Damen kissed him softly in response.

At that moment the knocking came again and Laurent called for the physician to come in, no one of the servants came to him before Paschal had made his visit.

He barely disentangled himself from Damen enough to look at the door, and laughed when he saw the physician’s surprised face at Damen’s unexpected presence in his bed.

 

Damen looked at the man in his arms, bright as gold in the morning light and restraining delighted giggles as Paschal argued that he was supposed to be resting, and felt some of his worry melt away.

 

He stayed outside during the morning visit, and when Paschal left the rooms and Damen was allowed inside once more, he was glad to see Laurent standing up on his own, no trace of any pain in him, only a small smile to greet him back.

Damen looked at Laurent for a long moment, letting himself appreciate what he had been too anxious the previous night to see.

 

He had never seen him in what he could only describe as a dress, but it suited him like most other things.

Damen had known that Veretians wore night gowns to bed, long-sleeved and tied loosely at the wrists and neck, long all the way to the carpeted floor, made of gauzy, opaque layers of tissue that made it impossible to see the lines of Laurent’s body.

 

“What, don’t you like my nightwear? It is traditional you know?” 

Damen let out a breath of a laugh at Laurent’s light tone

“I’ve never seen you wearing it before”

“I need to receive people in here so I have to be presentable, I can hardly sit and discuss with my council with only a shirt and no pants on”

“Couldn’t you just put your clothes on?”

Laurent made an impatient sound 

“Paschal frets that everyday clothes are too constricting and that I would hardly be able to relax in them, so I sit here wearing whatever dressing gown I want” he said with a gesture toward his wardrobe “but I believe you can bear the indecency of seeing me in only my night gown”

“It does expose a worrying amount of skin there at your neck, and when you walk I might catch a glimpse of your toe”

 

Laurent chuckled, letting Damen pull him to his chest and lifting up his chin to be kissed.

With their bodies this close together, Damen could feel the lines of the body that he could not see. He could feel the hips under his palm, the dip at the small of his back, and when Laurent deepened the kiss and pressed himself flush against Damen, he could feel the new roundness between them.

 

It was out of instinct that his hand went to the side of Laurent’s stomach, to explore the curve, but he was quick to drop it when Laurent stiffened under his touch and pulled back from the kiss.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking..”

Laurent looked down at their bodies, at where his stomach was pressing into Damen’s, and shook his head 

“It’s alright, this is just new, I need to get used to it”

“No, I shouldn’t touch you without asking”

Laurent gave him a curious look

“It’s foolish of me to panic every time you touch my stomach, I don’t even actually dislike it anymore, it’s just a little weird. I will grow accustomed to it with time.”

 

* * *

 

It was not easy, getting used to this situation, to the way it made him feel contrasting instincts all the time, nor to the new way Damen looked at his body.

In all honesty, Laurent mostly felt bloated, sore and was aware that his growing stomach might still pass for a lack of activity concealed as it was under layers of clothing. 

Nonetheless Damen looked at him in his dressing gowns as if he had never seen anything quite so pleasing.

It was foolish of Damen.

It made Laurent flush.

In the long hours they got to share together, Damen would unlace his wrists and neck at times, and all but torture him with sweet, lingering kisses all over his skin. 

Laurent had once, embarrassingly, spilled only from that, and the want in Damen’s groan had been so raw and obvious he had thought for a moment he was about to fuck him despite Paschal’s orders.


	9. Chapter 9

They spent some weeks doing very little, but Laurent consoled himself with the thought that Damen was making himself known at court for something other than being a slave or the killer of the crown prince. 

And that at least Laurent could still take care of papers and meetings even from his rooms.

It did not mean that he wasn’t bored most of the time.

 

As the days passed the sharp, sudden pains that had lingered in his abdomen went away, while a deeper and more persistent ache was slowly but steadily settling in his hips.

The physician pronounced it a common ailment and told Laurent to expect it to persist as the child grew heavier. 

 

* * *

 

“The court is talking about us”

Damen looked up at Laurent, who was standing by the desk, lightly leaning on it.

“Yes? What do they say?”

Laurent smirked 

“The little daughter of lady Renè asked me to my face this morning, while I received them, if I knew when the baby would come.”

Damen gave him a surprised look 

“Who do you think told her?”

“I think my state is becoming difficult to disguise, I am five months along and no matter how many layers I wear, even a little girl can see it. They must wonder when we will make an official announcement”

“I imagine it is time then, Paschal seems sure that everything is going well”

Laurent nodded, coming to sit next to him. 

“Paschal says I’m doing much better, I might soon be allowed outside and into the gardens at this rate, would you take me there then?”

“Of course I would”

Laurent looked forward to that, to spending time out of his rooms and to the opportunity of stretching his legs.

He also wanted to enjoy Damen’s company as much as he could, look at the way his dark hair shone under the sun and touch his summer-warm skin.

He still could not bed him, but this new intimacy that was in small, lingering touches, in tender gestures and loving words, was something that Laurent cherished. 

It still confused him at times, but Laurent was learning.

He had a good master after all, it all seemed to come naturally to Damen, the ease with which he could touch him and make it feel like comfort, the absentminded massages he would give him when he noticed his hips ached.

 

Laurent was still unsure about how he felt when it came to the child growing fast in his belly, but he knew that he loved this gentle courting.

It was a silly thing, because they were mated already, and ready to get married, but Damen made him feel more carefree, made him blush and smile and want to pick flowers for him.

 

* * *

 

True to his words, it was only a few days later that Laurent was allowed to take short strolls in the private gardens near his rooms. 

Damen accompanied him, making sure he would sit and rest often as he had been advised to do.

He liked the calm there, and Laurent looked obviously less cross with his confinement when he could enjoy the open air.

 

 

Laurent was braiding flowers together in a long string, Damen found it endlessly charming that he could see him pass time with activities he had learnt as a child.

“Vannes tells me it is high time we get married since you are here and the court now knows I’m expecting” he said without raising his eyes from the stems of the flowers in his hands.

Damen was sitting next to him on the stone bench, under the shade of low branches, soft pink flowers moving in the breeze over their heads.

“You can barely leave your rooms, how are we going to get married?”

“I can sit, a chair can be brought for me, it would not be unheard of”

“Would you really be alright for the whole thing?”

“Probably”

“Probably?” Damen gave him a skeptical look, by now all too familiar with what the word meant for Laurent 

“What is the worst that could happen? I might tire and feel faint and uncomfortable, and I would retire to my rooms when that happens”

“What if it happens at a moment when you can’t leave?”

“We’ll make it short”

“You’ll be farther along, sitting around will not be as easy as it is now”

Laurent gave him an annoyed sigh, putting down the flowers and looking up.

“Are you being contrary on purpose? Do you want this child to only be heir to Akielos? Because if we do not marry it surely won’t be able to inherit _my_ throne”

Damen’s large shoulders slumped slightly “You know that’s not it”

“I know we cannot do as we please, we are kings and sacrifices must be done, if all it takes is for me to be uncomfortable for maybe a day then I will do it”

Laurent paused, his cold composure warming a little as he leant closer to Damen, their shoulders touching 

“Do you want to marry me?” He asked looking up into dark brown eyes, expression almost shy.

Damen took his hand, kissing each knuckle before speaking

“With all my heart”

 

* * *

 

To say that Damen was worried would have been a severe understatement.

The whole of Arles was in a flutter of activity.

Their wedding was to be a private thing, but there was still a great amount of buzz around it.

Damen didn’t particularly like it, especially because it meant that the council wanted them to make at least one public apparition as newlyweds.

 

“Please don’t fret Damen, we only have to go as far as the balcony to be seen”

“You know that’s a long walk”

“It won’t kill me to walk that far”

Laurent was not going to admit under torture that he was worried himself, how humiliating would it be to have to ask to be carried?

The walk really was a long one after all.

“We could try walking there now, to see how I do”

Damen gave him a skeptical look

“Sounds to me as if that is only going to tire you”

Laurent fought not to roll his eyes 

“And if I tire I’ll rest Damen, it’s as simple as that, I’m not running a race”

When his mate still looked dubious Laurent scooted closer to him on the warm stone bench “You can always carry me back to our rooms if I get too tired”

 

They set to walk at a slow pace, conversing of small things on their way.

Damen kept his eyes on Laurent, observing the way his back bent slightly forward to adjust the weight of his stomach, one hand resting on top of it.

They were almost there when Laurent stopped, both hands pressing at the small of his back as he scrunched up his nose in annoyance.

“Your back hurts?”

“My back always hurts”

“We should go back, so you can rest”

 

Laurent seemed to consider for a long minute how much he wanted to prove that he could make it, then looked up at him, a playful smile at his lips 

“I remember there was some talk of you carrying me back to our rooms”

Damen shook his head, hands pulling Laurent closer and kissing him slowly and deeply, as he knew he liked.

 

They were in one of the large corridors, light from the high windows shone on them, and guards or courtiers could walk past at nay moment and see them.

Damen couldn’t deny being excited by the illicit aspect of them kissing and touching like that in a place almost public.

He pushed his mate back till his back leant against the dark stone of the wall, kissing down his neck, hands running down to his hips to grasp and pull closer, where he could feel the other’s arousal and willingness.

Laurent made a sound, and Damen kissed him more, small kisses that lingered at the mark on his neck, until Laurent put a hand to his chest and pushed, separating them.

They simply looked at each other for a moment, and Damen was pleased to hear Laurent’s rough breathing.

“I’m enjoying this, but my feet are actually sore Damen”

Damen laughed and lifted him, one arm under his knees and the other supporting his back

“Don’t get used to this Damianos, I’m not letting you carry me around all the time”

 

* * *

 

By the time everything was readied for the wedding, Laurent was well into the seventh month of his pregnancy, and it was obvious that he was more than ready to be done with everything.

Important families from both Akielos and Vere and royal representatives from other countries had to be invited, received and entertained at the castle, the whole court was alive with constant plays, games, banquets, hunting expeditions and more.

Laurent could not participate in any of it, big and round as he had gotten, all he could do was meet people in his rooms and talk, feeling more frustrated by the day.

He had never especially anticipated that sort of social activities, and he still didn’t, but at that point he was so profoundly bored, he would have appreciated any change in his routine.

Damen in the meanwhile, had to participate to basically everything, which often meant coming back to Laurent only late in the evening.

 

“Have you had fun?” Laurent asked from his seat at the desk, once Damen stepped into their rooms late into the evening.

“Ancel’s performance with the fire was admittedly good to watch, and Torveld is still not as good a rider as you”

Laurent hummed in agreement and Damen knew from his tone that something wasn’t quite right.

“What about Lord Adric’s youngest son? I’ve heard he has taken a liking to you”

Laurent’s voice was casual, and he didn’t look up from the papers he was filing, but Damen could tell that this was something he was bothered by

“Really?” He asked, trying to remember exactly who the man they were talking about was, and what they had done together

“Really”  
“Did Lady Vannes tell you so?” Damen was slowly getting tired at the number of accurate but useless things the woman kept reporting to Laurent.

“I have my ways of knowing what happens even while I’m secluded here” Laurent did finally look up as he spoke, one eyebrow arched as if to dare him say anything.

Damen sighed, almost unable to think of any good reason why they might be having such a conversation.

“Laurent, are you jealous?”

He had asked almost in jest, but with the way Laurent’s back stiffened, if was obvious he had hit a sore spot

“I simply don’t enjoy sharing” he replied primly

“Why would you have to share me?”

Laurent’s lips pursed tightly and he seemed to ponder his words accurately before speaking

“Alphas in Akielos are allowed to have more than one mate at the same time”

“I know, it doesn’t mean anything and Devort is just a kid”

Laurent rose, disdain obvious on his face, and walked over to the large window, where in the night sky stars were already visible.

“Devort is nineteen, and I’ve seen him”

“Really, and what about him?”

“He’s pretty, young, his hair is blond and his eyes are blue”

Damen almost groaned at that “You can’t be serious, I don’t run after every blonde I see, you listen too much to Nikandros if you believe that”

“I know you have been seen with him often this past week”

Damen shook his head, stepping closer and putting his arms around Laurent’s waist. 

He was glad when Laurent didn’t protest at the contact.

“Laurent, I don’t want him, nor any other person, maybe you’re right and he is a little infatuated with me, but it doesn’t matter”

Laurent looked up, his soft lips pressed into a thin, serious line “I’ve gotten really big, I can barely recognize myself…”

“You’re perfect, full with my child, and I don’t love you only because you’re incredibly handsome, I love your mind, and your heart too”

“Do you really?” Laurent seemed uncertain as he looked up at him, maybe even a little shy, cheeks going slightly pink as he spoke “Love me I mean”

Damen’s tone was delighted and surprised at the same time “Of course I do, I’ve mated you, I’m marrying you in two days, I’m having a child with you…”

Laurent nodded, that shy expression still on his face, still incredibly endearing, so much so that Damen had to kiss his forehead and then his temple, brush a strand of hair away from his cheek.

“I love you Laurent, and I can’t imagine what you would have to do to make me stop”

“I wouldn’t do anything Damianos, I never want you to stop”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god, the comments you all leave are so sweet, thank you so much for keeping me so motivated!

The wedding was as private as it could be, and Damen was thankful with every fiber of his being that he was not required to fuck Laurent in front of the council on account of Laurent’s state.

Paschal had recently cleared them, but kept the news from the council at Damen’s insistence.

Laurent only laughed at his embarrassment, he did not seem to mind much either way.

“I’m fucking you once we’re back in our rooms anyway” he had shrugged 

 

Laurent sat quietly and perfectly still during the whole ceremony, beautiful in a dress of gold and white, with a hint of crimson at the end of the long cape draped around his shoulders, in honor of Damen’s colors.

Damen kept his eyes on him, making sure that nothing was wrong.

He could see the stiffness with which he rose, pausing for moment to get his balance, and made a note to himself to massage his back and feet once they were alone.

 

 

Walking to the balcony was unreasonably hard for Laurent, after more than one hour spent sitting still his back was awfully sore and the child was kicking him in the ribs, as if breathing wasn’t already difficult with how large his stomach had grown.

By the time they reached the balcony he was out of breath, and was grateful to Damen for stalling things momentarily as he leant heavily on his arm.

 

The roar of the crowd when the stepped into view was deafening, and Laurent smiled a little, raising one hand to greet the people while the other stayed at the top of his stomach, under Damen’s larger one.

 

The walk back to their rooms was slower, and they had to stop often, but Laurent refused to let Damen carry him, not when all the eyes of the court were on him.

 

He sighed once he was finally able to sit on their bed

“Are you alright?”

“I’m sore, and your child is about to kick its way out of me”

He winced at a particularly hard kick, and lied down on his side, one hand rubbing tentatively at his stomach as he had seen other pregnant people do.

It still felt awkward to acknowledge the large bump and its movements, it still felt unreal and slightly foreign.

The child rolled inside him, seeming to lean into his touch and Laurent took his hand away, almost startled.

It was only seconds before Damen’s darker hand replaced his.

His movements were careful but it looked easy when it was Damen doing it, and it felt comforting, Laurent had slowly come to like the feeling of his mate’s —his husband’s— warm hand caressing his stomach, the baby seemed to like it too, growing still after a few minutes.

Laurent could only feel a few gentle flutters as Damen massaged large circles against his skin.

“This child already likes you more than me” he complained lazily, closing his eyes and welcoming the minutes of calm.

He heard Damen chuckle “You two simply need to bond a little more”

Maybe Damen was right, he thought with a sigh as his body relaxed, maybe he would eventually get used to this and stop feeling so weird about his own body.

It would be good, to face such a huge loss of control and still feel comfortable.

Maybe other people did it without having to think so hard.

* * *

 

Laurent wasn’t new to nightmares, but as his stomach grew heavy and the child got restless, sleeping became more difficult and his dreams slowly became more vivid, which most of the time meant nothing more than waking up confused. 

But some nights, it meant being in for a detailed reenactment of things of the past.

Things he would rather not relieve with such cruel accuracy.

 

It was on such a night that he woke up in a panic, every shadow around him a threat, the weight of the blanket over him took his breath away and when a hand came out of the darkness to touch him he screamed.

“No! Not again, please!”

He thrashed wildly to get away and fell, in a tangle of blankets, onto the floor.

It would have probably been something to laugh about, but he was in pain, he had fallen hard, hitting his hip and a cold shock of pain ran up his side, taking his breath away.

It was short, but intense enough that he panicked more, one hand to his stomach, terrified that the child wasn’t moving.

 

He finally regained some sense when he heard Damen call his name and rush to kneel by him.

“Laurent, Laurent are you hurt?”

He was touching him, his head, hands traveling over his body to find any wound, resting on his back in comfort when he couldn’t find any.

Laurent shook his head, his breathing still harsh, and waited to feel something, anything.

The child was always moving, why wasn’t it moving now?

“Damen…” his voice was strangled with fear

“It was only a nightmare, let me help you up”

Laurent was still as a statue, still waiting, his hand moving over his stomach with a desperation he hadn’t anticipated, until he felt it, a roll and then a kick right in his side.

He slumped forward, letting Damen hold him while his breathing evened out, the nervous tension drained from him making him boneless and shivery into his husband’s arms.

 

“Damen, help me back to bed, my hip hurts”

He did not protest when Damen simply lifted him up, as if his weight was that of a doll, and placed him on the bed.

He gave a sigh of relief as his head hit the pillows, glad for the first time that his insides were being kicked.

“Are you really alright?” Damen was hovering uncertainly, that unsure expression did not suit him and Laurent motioned for him to sit. 

“I am fine, I only hurt my hip a little, and took a fright” he admitted, still surprised at how scared he had been when the baby had not moved immediately. 

Laurent took pity on his lover after a few minutes, Damen looked like he needed all the reassurance he could get, so Laurnet took his hand, placing it at the side of his large stomach, where the baby had been pushing.

They waited for a moment like that and Laurent could tell that Damen was barely even breathing 

“There, did you feel that?” He asked, moving his husband’s hand to follow the baby rolling inside “the child is alright”

Damen looked at him, the hand still on his stomach now moving in gentle circles, and bent down to kiss his forehead.

Laurent flushed at the innocent show of affection.

“You looked so scared, I got really worried”

Laurent only nodded, unable to deny the obvious “I know, I’m fine now, I only want to go back to sleep”

 

 

It wasn’t long after that that Laurent could hear Damen’s breathing slow down as he fell back asleep. 

His arms were still wrapped around Laurent, one hand protectively at his stomach.

Laurent was looking down at it, and it felt weird in a different way than usual.

He felt foolish, but the child growing inside him seemed suddenly more real and he wondered, unexpectedly and for the first time, what they would look like.

Would their hair be curly and thick like Damen’s?

Laurent put his hand on his stomach again, it was a gesture to which he had grown used to, mostly because at times he needed to soothe a cramp, but this time it felt somehow different.

He tried rubbing small circles low on his belly, where he could feel the baby’s weight, and his heart skipped a beat in surprise when something moved against his hand, a small foot or maybe an elbow.

Laurent felt raw and unprepared, for the images his brain provided.

He was suddenly imagining the child moving inside him, the shock of dark hair they would probably have, the tiny hands curled into fists.

The thing moving and growing in his stomach and causing him all sorts of pain, inexplicably had a shape in his mind now, a baby.

They could have been hurt when he had fallen off the bed, they could have been hurt when the other day he had insisted to walk all the way to the stables to check on the horses.

He had almost lost them early on because he was unreasonable and afraid…

Laurent felt tears prick at his eyes, the low burn of a lump forming in his throat, and sniffled, trying to be quiet and not wake Damen.

This was still scary, but also different, he wanted this child, he was doing this with the man he loved, this wasn’t supposed to make him feel ashamed or disgusting.

Nothing about the situation he was in was like it had been the first time, the terror and pain he had been in, how dirty and alone he had felt.

This child was born out of love, even if the timing was not the best, and he had to take care of them, he was the only one who could as long as they were inside him.

 

* * *

 

After that night Damen could’t help but notice something different in Laurent.

Starting by the very following morning, he seemed more relaxed, humming contentedly as he rolled in Damen’s arms to face him as he awoke.

A sleepy smile gracing his pink lips as Damen kissed the crown of his head.

Damen’s eyebrows rose in surprise when Laurent’s hand, movements still slow with sleep, went immediately to his round stomach, caressing up and down. 

“The child’s still sleeping” he said quietly, blue eyes warm with some emotion Damen couldn’t place.

“It’s still early morning”

Laurent smirked “They stayed up most of the night after all, rolling around”

Damen heard him huff out a quiet laugh before continuing “Do you think they’ll do the same once they’re born? Keep us awake most of the night?”

“I hope not”

Damen smiled, but he was confused, this was weird and unexpected, this conversation about their child, about what it might be like in the future, the light tone of it.

This was completely new.

There seemed to be very little tension in Laurent’s body as he spoke, and Damen couldn’t really explain what changes must have taken place while he slept.

They were welcome changes to say the least, he had not enjoyed seeing the man he loved struggle so harshly with himself during the last months.

He felt Laurent’s muscles shift and saw his hand still, now cupping the side of his belly

“Ah, I spoke too soon, they woke up”

Damen was surprised and utterly enamored with the expression of ease with which Laurent spoke, and his head almost spun when Laurent took his hand and pressed it to the point where the baby was stretching.

 

* * *

 

Laurent still complained to him at times, the child was active and growing fast, making him sore by the time evening came and making sleeping difficult.

But Damen still saw him much more at ease than he had been before.

His posture was more relaxed as he walked around, even when he had to press one hand at the small of his back, or when he had to sit to get his breath back.

As long as they were alone there was such a new sweetness in Laurent that Damen could barely believe it.

 

“You look happy” he ventured to comment while they were taking a stroll through the gardens.

Laurent looked up at him, his smile soft as he took Damen’s arm.

“I’m here with you, I have every reason to be happy”

“You look happier than you were last week”

“I know, you told me I simply needed to bond more with our child, I think you were right”

“I’m glad you’re doing better”

Laurent nodded, pulling him to a bench in the shade of a tree 

“Come sit with me, my feet are sore”

He sat down heavily, one hand rubbing the top of his stomach “If they grow any bigger I’ll give birth to a toddler” Laurent huffed quietly, breathing was hard at times, when the child pushed on his lungs.

“There’s still two more months to go”

“I know, but I feel too big already, this is your fault, you’re the one who is unreasonably tall”

Damen smiled, Laurent’s tone didn’t seem to carry any real anger

“I’ll give you a massage once we’re back in our rooms then”

“Yes, you should” Laurent grinned at him “but you can start with my feet while we’re here”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoohoo! Incredible I know, but here comes the last chapter, I can't believe I actually made it :D what a ride, it's rare for me to be able to write so much! And I'm really glad for all of the support I received from all of you!

As weeks went by, Laurent had to spend more time in their rooms, walking made him tired in only a few minutes, and as his stomach grew heavier he had to deal with cramps that would come and go at any hour of the day and night.

Having Damen massage his stomach and lower back made it bearable, having slow, unhurried sex made it bearable too.

Laurent did not mind the gentleness with which Damen treated him, he felt impatient at times, but his body was so much more sensitive in so many unexpected ways, he could afford to take it easy.

 

To be quite honest, he felt horrifyingly heavy, bloated like he might pop at any moment.

Damen insisted on his being on top, but his balance was awful and his legs trembled after only a few minutes.

He was glad that Damen didn’t seem to like it any less, even when all Laurent did was rock himself back and forth on his mate’s cock, hips moving in small, quick jerks.

Damen actually seemed on the brink of losing himself every time they fucked, his hands would hover over Laurent’s swollen mound, obviously unsure, until Laurent took his hands and deliberately put them on himself.

The skin of his stomach was really sensitive, stretched as it was, so much so that it would probably have been uncomfortable if it weren’t for how delicate the touch was.

Damen always looked positively awed every time he would run his hands up from his hips, to his sides, to his belly and then to his chest.

It was slightly embarrassing being touched there, since his breasts had grown much bigger lately, and milk would occasionally leak from them when Damen squeezed.

That seemed to drive the alpha mad, hips thrusting up into Laurent, who could not complain, busy as he was stifling moans.

 

The sex was good if a bit impractical, and the sweetness that came after was good too.

Laurent had come to cherish their time in bed together, spent in each other’s arms, talking of nothing or dozing off, large warm hands caressing every inch of skin with unguarded adoration.

He also liked how their child tended to calm down more easily when Damen’s hands were cradling his stomach.

He liked imagining a healthy child to hold, one with Damen’s looks and manners, he hoped they wouldn’t get much from him if possible.

 

 

Damen was in awe of Laurent’s changing body, of how soft it would feel under his touch and how slower but not less graceful his movements had become.

He could spend as long as Laurent would let him simply running his hands over his skin, kissing every inch he could reach.

 

As the days went on Laurent’s stomach only grew, and the date the child was expected to be born came and passed, leaving Laurent heavy and frustrated.

“Why won’t they just come out?” He asked irritably as Paschal checked on him in the morning, laying on his back for it was painful with the weight the child put on him, so the physician’s visits had to be quick.

“This is normal your majesty, the child will come when it is ready, the position is right so you have nothing to worry about” he said, pushing lightly at Laurent’s lower stomach.

Laurent was not exactly worried at this point, he was in a terribly bad mood, tired and sore and wanted to stop feeling that way.

He wanted to have the child and go back to having his own bodily autonomy.

 

* * *

 

It took Laurent another full week before the pains finally started.

They were still slight and far between, still more uncomfortable than really painful, and at first he was relieved, he couldn’t carry this child any longer or he risked going mad.

The relief soon faded however, when it became clear that nothing was moving nearly fast enough for his liking .

The pains had started early in the morning, and as night fell not much had changed, Laurent had been pacing in his rooms most of the day as the midwife had instructed, but it didn’t seem to change anything.

He was more frustrated than ever as he lied back in bed to rest, the child was sitting low in his stomach, and everything ached.

Laurent wanted to be done with this, he wanted their child out of him as soon as possible.

He thought he might actually cry as Damen’s arms wrapped around him.

“It’s almost over Laurent, you just need to rest while you can”

“I want them out of me, why is it taking so long?”

“I know you do, Paschal said labour takes longer the first time”

“It has been a whole day” he said irritably, face buried in Damen’s chest.

 

Laurent did manage to sleep, only to wake up shortly before the sun rose, when the pains started growing stronger.

He actually felt the urge to walk around at this point, the child even lower in between his hips now.

He had to resist the impulse of stomping down his feet in frustration, Laurent wanted this to be over, he didn’t care about what pain he’d have to go through as long as it was fast.

On the other hand, Damen seemed to be growing more and more anxious, requesting Paschal to never leave the room, not taking his eyes off Laurent’s pacing for even an instant. 

Laurent knew he was scared.

He couldn’t exactly fault him, knowing this was the way he had lost his mother.

 

As the day progressed Laurent grew more restless, by midday he couldn’t walk through the pains anymore, having to lean against the wall or a chair and wait for them to pass.

His stomach hung low and heavy, and massaging it was slowly becoming useless.

Laurent himself was becoming anxious, he hadn’t expected it to last so long, he had no idea what was going on with his body at this point, and seeing his mate’s barely masked fear wasn’t helping him.

When he could move again after a particularly harsh pain had passed, Laurent turned to look at Damen.

“Come here, my back hurts” 

Damen stood up immediately, but seemed to hesitate in coming much closer and Laurent snapped irritably.

“I’m not dying you fool, come here and help”

Damen winced and Laurent almost regretted being so harsh, but not for long, because Damen’s hands were warm and strong against the aching muscles of his lower back.

He sighed, leaning back into his husband’s massage 

“This is taking forever, and I’m tired of that terrified look on your face”

“I have every right to be worried”

“Yes, well, it does not help at all”

Laurent had to shut up, one hand uselessly rubbing at the side of his stomach while the other supported his weight against the wall as another pain rolled through him, starting at his back and sneaking all the way to the front of his stomach.

At this point it wasn’t simply uncomfortable anymore, he was in actual pain, and the thought that it might keep going for hours without any relief made his heart sink.

When the pain finally receded, Laurent turned around, arms locking behind Damen’s neck as he looked for some sort of comfort.

He was glad when he felt Damen hug him back, and let himself be swayed from side to side slowly.

“We’ll have our child by the end of this” he heard Damen say, soft lips kissing behind his ear.

Laurent nodded, head sinking lower to rest on his husband’s shoulder.

 

It wasn’t long after that he could feel another pain building, stronger than the previous one, and he grimaced as it peaked, rocking his hips to try and soothe the pain as the muscles of his stomach contracted harshly.

He huffed out a breath as it faded, and leaned further into Damen, who was now holding up most of his weight.

The pressure in his pelvis was only growing, and Laurent shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, instinctively looking for a position that might help with the pain.

He knew there wasn’t one.

When the next pain came, much sooner than he had expected, Laurent couldn’t stand up anymore, he groaned low in his throat as it grew in intensity, and had to squat down, Damen’s arms the only thing keeping him upright as he felt the pressure grow as the baby inched lower.

When he slowly stood up again on trembling legs, Laurent felt too hot, sweat clinging to his forehead as his body shivered despite the heat.

Laurent clung to his husband, trying to keep control of his breathing and the nausea rolling over him in waves.

Damen’s hand running through his hair was a small comfort he was grateful for, leaning into the touch with a weary sigh.

 

He grimaced and squirmed when the pressure in his lower stomach grew even stronger, painful and dull and impossible to ignore.

“I— I need my chamber pot..”

The words had barely left him when he felt a slight pop, something liquid pour out of him in a rush, making him gasp.

Laurent looked down at his feet, momentarily perplexed by the clear puddle he was standing in, but he was pulled from his surprise as a moan of pain forced its way out of his mouth as his stomach contracted, the pressure was unbearable and his legs gave out.

The only reason he hadn’t sunk to the floor was Damen holding him up.

Laurent’s hands went to his sides, palms pushing down as he grit his teeth, the pain peaking and taking his breath away.

“Fuck, that really hurt—” he muttered when the pain let go of him enough to breathe again.

“You should go back to the bed you majesty” 

Laurent turned his head to see Paschal next to him, the servants placing more linens on the bed and the midwife washing her hands meticulously in a bowl of water.

She was old, and Laurent liked her, she was there when he had been born.

She had been there for Auguste’s birth too he had been told.

He knew she was good at her job, but a sharp stab of fear still lodged itself in his ribs.

 

Still pressed close as they were, Laurent could feel the heart in Damen’s chest hammering away even harder than his own, and looked up to his mate, curving his lips in an uncertain smile to reassure him.

Damen’s big, honest eyes were staring at him, as if he were about to be ripped away from his arms.

Laurent didn’t exactly feel up to the task of easing the man’s worries at the moment, but he would try.

“It’s alright Damen, just help me to bed”

Laurent slowly waddled the few steps to their large bed, hearing the physician tell one of the servants to hurry and call the council, the child was coming.

Laurent sat down heavily, legs far apart to make room for his stomach, another pain coming fast and making him curl up, palms running over the stretched skin of his belly, trying to make the pain more bearable.

It didn’t work, and at the same time the pressure low in his pelvis kept growing, but when the pain finally subsided he was able to lie down on his back for the midwife to examine him.

 

The pressure was still there, and he panted quietly while looking up at the high ceiling of his rooms.

He could do this, his body was still under control, it wouldn’t take long now for this to be over.

The hand he had been running over his stomach in soothing strokes clenched into a fist and he rolled on his side when another pain crashed over him, stronger than all the previous ones, and so soon he had barely had time to get his breath back.

The pressure was terrible and he moaned in agony, pressing his face into the pillow to muffle the sound.

It took forever for the pain to begin to wash away, only for it to climb back up and peak again in a matter of seconds.

Laurent couldn’t move, the more he tried go regain some control over himself, the more he felt it slip away, pain and pressure growing without mercy until he cried out, desperate for help, one hand fumbling blindly to hold onto Damen’s.

 

Laurent snapped his eyes open when he felt hands grab his legs and part them.

Looking down he could see his whole council gathered at a respectful distance from the end of the bed, there to witness the birth.

Laurent didn’t care who was watching at this point, the pain was unrelenting and he could feel Damen’s hand trembling hard into his.

Laurent didn’t dare to look at him, if he saw him scared he would probably end up in a panic as well, so he looked down in between his parted legs, where the midwife was sitting, she looked up at him with all the calm in the world.

“Your majesty, you need to push at this point” 

He tensed up when he felt another pain coming, but the woman patted his hip encouragingly “Big breath here your majesty, push hard”

Laurent pushed when the pressure grew, he pushed again and again until the pain faded a little, leaving him panting for air.

He looked up then, feeling a gentle hand brush away the hair plastered on his forehead.

Damen was talking to him, murmuring calming words in akielos and as usual doing a poor job at concealing his emotions.

Laurent was glad he was trying at least, he knew he couldn’t handle Damen looking terrified at a moment like this.

“My back is killing me” he complained with a strangled voice that sounded very little like his own, trying to close his legs and roll more into his side.

“Just a moment your majesty,” the midwife stopped him, pushing her fingers inside him again, and Laurent started a little.

He saw her frown slightly and push at the bottom of his stomach.

“The child is big, let’s change position your majesty, your back will hurt less”

 

Laurent nodded, getting on his knees was a bit of a struggle, and by the time he made it he had to sink forward into the pillows again, pushing hard as his stomach contracted for a long minute.

It seemed to do something this time, he gasped and had to spread his legs farther apart, trying to adjust to the huge pressure the baby was putting on his pelvis as it finally descended lower.

The pains weren’t stopping anymore now, and Laurent had to push again, feeling the child come faster.

This was so utterly out of his control, he had to fight hard not to panic.

He could faintly make out the midwife’s voice praising him over the sound of his ragged breathing

“The head is right here your majesty”

He swallowed hard, wanting to be done with this, and pushed again when he felt the pressure rise.

Laurent shouted out in pain and fear, it burned so bad and it only kept getting worse, he feared he might end up split in half.

He screamed again, trying to raise his hips to somehow get away from the pain between his legs, but it was no use.

He gasped and gulped for air when he felt the head pop out out of him, the stretch finally lessening.

His whole body was shaking hard, and it took him a few moments to realize that Damen was running his hand up and down his back, talking to him all the while.

Laurent sniffled, surprised to find his own face wet with fat tears.

 

“Very good your majesty, push again when you feel the urge”

Laurent didn’t want to push again, he wanted the pain to stop and didn’t care how.

A groan tore out of him as he felt the pressure mount once more, he reached out to grab Damen’s hand, squeezing hard as he tried his best to push the shoulders out.

It was slow work, and the burn was soon back, he was trembling with the strain of it.

He screamed when the shoulders stretched him wide again, pain radiating all over his body, and slumped forward, eyes closed and face hidden in the pillows when he finally felt the baby slide out of him.

 

Catching his breath was a feat, his arms and legs shook with fatigue as he rolled onto his side.

He could hear hushed voices and movements, could still feel Damen’s hand in his, squeezing too hard in obvious worry, but was too tired to do anything about it.

Laurent opened his eyes when he heard a loud cry, he pried himself from the pillows to look down at the midwife, a big baby was wailing angrily in her arms, little fists shaking and legs kicking.

Laurent looked in disbelief.

“It’s a boy!” The woman announced with a smile, turning around to show the child to the council.

Laurent managed to sit up a little, arms reaching forward 

“Please, I want to hold him”

He didn’t have to wait long, a blanket was wrapped around the baby while another servant unlaced part of Laurent’s gown.

He was soon placed on his bare chest.

The child’s tiny hands fumbled around and he still cried with all the strength of his lungs for a few moments, before calming down a little, the warm contact of skin on skin soothing him.

Laurent looked up at Damen, his heart felt huge and a small, tired smile tugged at his lips. 

“We have a son, his hair is dark,” he said, one pale hand shaking a little as he touched the baby’s head “just like yours…”

Damen leaned down, arms wrapping around Laurent and the child, his touch was gentle and Laurent knew he was still scared.

“We’re fine Damen, I’m just tired”

His husband nodded, and he looked like he couldn’t decide who he wanted to keep his eyes on more, gaze going from Laurent to the baby and back again.

 

* * *

 

Laurent must have passed out from exhaustion some time after finally delivering the afterbirth —an ordeal all on its own— because when he opened his eyes again, it was morning and his room was empty.

At least empty compared to when he had last been awake.

Damen was there, turned away from him, looking out of the window.

Laurent called him, and was momentarily taken aback by the sight of his husband cradling their child in his arms.

It looked right, and Laurent smiled.

 

“You’re awake”

Damen’s voice sounded still a little strained, and Laurent’s heart gave a small pang at the thought of how scared his mate must have been.

“Are you still worried about me?”

“Of course I am”

“You’re hopeless, I’m fine”

Damen looked at him for a long moment, as if he were trying to commit the scene to memory

“I know…” He then looked down at their child 

“He fell asleep after the wet-nurse fed him, he should wake up again soon I think”

Laurent looked down at his own chest, swollen and aching.

“I want to feed him when he wakes up”

“You don’t have to”

“I know, the wet-nurse can have him when I’m busy”

Damen chuckled 

“Alright then, your majesty”

Laurent gave him a satisfied smile and watched Damen walk up to him before asking, “What’s his name?”

“I was waiting for you to wake up before deciding”

Laurent made a face

“You’re the alpha, you’re supposed to give him a name, not me”

“I don’t care about that, I want you to have a say in it.”

 

Laurent reached out, taking the child in his arms, as careful as he could be.

He stirred a little, whimpering and opening his eyes to look at him

“His eyes are blue” Damen said 

“They could change”

“I know, but they might stay like yours”

Laurent nodded, holding the baby close to his heart, rubbing their cheeks together lightly, it was a gesture that calmed children, meant to cover them in their mother’s scent.

The baby yawned wide, and Laurent couldn’t help a smile, their child was perfect and beautiful, healthy and alive.

He looked up at Damen after a few moments. 

“We could call him Auguste,” he said quietly “they don’t look much alike, but I hope he takes after you, you’re as much of a good man as he was”

Damen sat next to him on the bed, kissing his forehead “I think he’ll carry his name with pride, and I hope he takes after you as well, you’re kind and much more intelligent than me”

Laurent huffed out a laugh “You only act dumb, you’re my strategic genius”

Damen kissed him again, on the lips this time, soft and unhurried and Laurent melted into it.

When they parted Laurent looked down again at their child, it was hard taking his eyes off of him.

“I almost can’t believe this is real,” he looked at Damen with an incredulous smile “we made this, we made a baby, he actually came out of me”

Damen laughed quietly “You’re the one who did all the work”

“I would have been lost without you,” Laurent looked down at their Auguste, small and warm in his arms, living proof of the bond between him and Damen, and kissed his tiny hand “I would have lost him too without you…”

 

Damen held him a little closer, watching the newborn look around with wide, blue eyes, small feet moving constantly.

He gave a quiet sigh and kissed his husband’s golden hair “I’m so glad you’re both safe… Paschal promised to keep an eye on you for a few weeks”

Laurent rolled his eyes “As if the man needed you nudging him into being any more of a worrywart, at this rate I won’t be able to get out of this room before the child learns to read”

Damen laughed “I only have your best interest at heart”

Laurent’s smile warmed and became soft as he looked up at him, resting his head against Damen’s chest “I know, I know you do.”

 


End file.
